The Chronicles of Marcus Tobin
by Satsu Ryu
Summary: In an instant, his life was changed forever. Marcus struggles to accept his new state of existence as a Kindred while refusing to shed the remnants of his humanity. Based on my character from a current Vampire: The Requiem game. Written in 1st person.
1. Info Page

So here's a list of characters and some stuff about them. It'll update as characters appear. The characters who appear here are only characters that Marcus has spoken to as of now but I'm sure if you look, you can spot some Chicago canon characters but they aren't included here for said reason. This also happens to but a nice place to talk about a disclaimer. 

I don't own the World of Darkness, Vampire: The Requiem, the Chicago campaign setting, Clan Mekhet, the Lancea Sanctum, or any other intellectual properties owned or associated with White Wolf. However, Marcus Tobin and any other original character featured here are indeed of my own and if my ST happens upon this document, his as well asides from Marcus Tobin. I'm sure we all respect each other here but using one of these fellows and claiming they belong to you probably isn't cool but I trust no one will do such thing. You can use, but you don't own. Also, I'm not making any money out of this. Otherwise, enjoy this page and the following fiction that is associated with it.

Character List - 1986

Marcus Tobin  
Clan: Mekhet  
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum  
Age - 23  
Height – 5'8''  
Weight – 140 lbs  
Hair – Medium, Black  
Eyes – Dark Blue  
Description:  
Newly sired Mekhet belonging to the Lancea Sanctum. An uncommon commodity when it comes to most vampires, he tries hard to not let go of his humanity as he enters the Danse Macabre of Chicago.

Anna Ainsley  
Clan: Mekhet  
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum  
Age - 30  
Height – 5'5''  
Weight – 110 lbs  
Hair – Long, Brown  
Eyes – Green  
Description:  
Sire of Marcus. When approached by Marcus, she'll give advise to how to maneuver in the Danse Macabre, how to be a Mekhet and a good Sanctified. Occasionally the choice target for Marcus's ogling.

Laurence Baskerville  
Clan: Ventrue  
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum  
Age - 208  
Height – 6'0''  
Weight – 148 lbs  
Hair – Short, Platinum blonde  
Eyes – Blue  
Description:  
Current Bishop of the Lancea Sanctum of Chicago. He is against the Matriarch's rule over Chicago. As Bishop, he is very serious and strict. As another Kindred, he is very kind and personable.

Damien Zeidan  
Clan: Mekhet  
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum  
Age – 22  
Height – 5'8''  
Weight – 145 lbs  
Hair – Medium, Brown  
Eyes – Blue  
Description:  
Another newly sired Mekhet. Belonging to the Lancea Sanctum, like Marcus. However, it is not known if he is adamant about remaining as human as possible or to become an immediate instrument of divine punishment.

Christine Kinsey  
Age – 22  
Height – 5'4''  
Weight – 110 lbs  
Hair – Long, Orange  
Eyes – Green  
Description:  
Another one of Marcus's classmates. She has secret feelings (seemingly physical) for Marcus. Helps him break into his own room.

Lucia Windsor  
Age – 22  
Height – 5'4''  
Weight – 108 lbs  
Hair – Long, Brown  
Eyes – Hazel  
Description:  
Marcus's close friend and love interest. She has feelings for Marcus too but is reluctant to say anything about it. A very kind and sincere person.

Linda Warren  
Order: Mysterium  
Path: Mastigos  
Age – 54  
Height – 5'2''  
Weight – 100 lbs  
Hair – Medium, graying brown  
Eyes – Brown  
Description:  
Owner of Cassandra's Vision, an occult bookstore that has many valuable books and magic artifacts hidden within. Has good relations with Marcus, unlike many other Kindred in the city.

* * *


	2. Prologue

My name is Marcus Tobin, Kindred of the Clan Mekhet and a Tyro of the Covenant Lancea Sanctum. In an instant, I was taken from my ordinary life and transformed into something, something that I have yet to completely understand. But before I go on, allow me to explain my past history prior to all this.

I was born on September 9th, 1963. I was an ordinary child living with a Roman Catholic family. We observed Mass every Sunday faithfully. It would appear my parents would always get the benefit out of it, emerging from the church enlightened and ready to serve to Lord evermore. I however dreaded the weekly ritual, emerging from the church bored and rather unenlightened. As I matured physically and mentally, I began to see and respect Catholicism in an enlightened way, but I still didn't like attending church every Sunday.

I was always curious. I sought knowledge at a young age when everyone else was out playing ball on the local fields. When I was 15, I kept watch on Richard Chase, the reputed Vampire of Sacramento, while my contemporaries were out and about trying to pop various young women's, ahem, cherries and then some. When I was 18, I was happy to know that my application to St. Xavier University at Chicago was accepted and rather intrigued when Ronald Reagan's name in numeric value resulted in the number of the Beast. Oh yes, this is where it began, my interest in the Occult and Supernatural.

When I entered St. Xavier University, I sought to be a Bible Scholar, teaching and researching His word. But other then that, I sought knowledge others would dismiss or deem forbidden. On my off time, I would go about and research various cults in the city and things of supernatural origins. A modern new age bookshop called Cassandra Visions aided me greatly in my quest of knowledge. They would provide me tomes of knowledge that would become my nighttime reading materials such as the rare leather bound and Latin copy of the Dictionnaire Infernal, a comprehensive guide to the denizens of the fiery Abyss and the Legions they command; Codex Latinus Monacensis, a 15th century manual on demonic magicks, formulas, and necromancy; and let's not forget the Lesser Key of Solomon, the reputed ancient Hebrew Kabbalah grimoire written by the King himself on how to summon and bind demons to one's will.

My encounters with the Supernatural and the Occult can range from deadly serious to comically pitiful. One of my very first eavesdropping sessions on cult meetings was a small time groupie dedicating a sacrifice consisting of two gerbils and several goldfish to the prince of darkness himself, Satan, inside a graveyard. I left with much disappointment, hoping that the rest of the occult world wasn't a complete joke. Well, at least they sacrificed the poor things on the right month, March, the most potent time to communicate with Satan. Anyway, I found out that I was dreadfully wrong.

I recall another groupie in another cemetery, the infamous Bachelor's Grove. This groupie was rather large and was intending on conjuring a demon into their presence. They sacrificed a she-goat and proceeded to drink its blood. They then created a giant pentagram that was lit aflame and the group leader offered himself to be possessed by the demon. The group chanted a mantra and soon an unnatural wind came about that unsettled me. The group leader didn't speak for a moment but when he did, it was not his voice. When spoke in a low and guttural voice. To my absolute terror he said in what I found out later to be Gaelic, "Smithereenyn ais abar annrach measg sinn… Ainstil smithereenyn!" As I found out later, in English it would be, "There is a stranger among us… Over there!" The cultists turned their heads to over where I was hiding and began to walk towards my location in a threatening manner. I slapped my notebook shut and ran like hell. I was wearing black loose fitting clothes as to aid in my concealment and to somewhat distort my shape and they were foolishly wearing monkish robes. Although those robes did add to the sheer terror I felt as I ran through the dark and supposedly haunted woods. I luckily made my getaway in my cooperating car. None of that dead car bullshit you see in those slasher flicks. You couldn't imagine how many times I gave thanks to the Lord and Saint Michael for allowing my grand escape from the priests of the Adversary. Soon after that, I ran back to Cassandra Visions and the shop-keep who was working at the time asked what was the matter and I explained myself. She advised me to be more careful in my observations next time and he got a friend of his to deal with the group I encountered so as they not track me down to use as their next sacrifice.

But not all of my encounters with the occult resulted in near attempts on my life or complete disappointment. I recall this other groupie who interestingly enough was entirely composed of females. Once again in my full black attire and a mask, I spied upon their ritual. This time it was a group of witches celebrating the Litha, a celebration of the midsummer. They chanted around a large pole that looked like a cross yet two beams originating from the top went down to each side of the horizontal beams, making a triangle and on the lower angles of this triangles hung a single circle. After that they ate a wholesome meal. Everything would appear normal and I remained un-terrified. I was even compelled to leave since this groupie was about nearly as boring as Mass. As I looked on, the head leader spoke loudly. I was a bit too far to hear anything, due to additional safety precautions I adapted after the last incident. After that I heard laughing. I repositioned myself closer to the site but not so close as to where if I was discovered, my escape could not be guaranteed. I took out a pair of binoculars and observed to my surprise and delight that they had begun removing their clothing and began frolicking around the large bonfire they had going. After an hour and 45 minutes, the frolicking degenerated, or should I say, advanced, into a conglomeration of naked writhing bodies, which resulted into a complete lesbian orgy. I stayed for the entire "celebration". The next day, I discreetly took my laundry and my spy-wear to the school cleaners to wash out some stains… To my amusement, there have been reports of a reputed "cult hunter" going about and closely observing cult activities with amazing stealth. Heh, I knew those ninja flicks would help me one day.

Ah but in between watching mysterious and sinister robed cultists summoning demons and some relatively attractive witches who happen to be in your English class make sweet, sweet love to each other, I have something of a social life too. It is not only I who possesses this interest of the supernatural and occult. On a biweekly basis, I meet up with a group of intrepid investigators around my own age who go about with their own research but not to my extremes as to having their own lives on the line. We also take leave on all seriousness and go get a bite to eat and watch one of those anime flicks. We also conduct mock combat with either mock, improvised weaponry, or in the true spirit of combat, video games. And last but certainly not the very least, there's Lucia Windsor. She's a wonderful woman with a spirit and heart full of compassion. I remember helping her with the Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives in collecting and serving food to the poor many times in the soup kitchens. In fact, she loves helping people so much that she decided that she would dedicate her life to the Lord as a traveling Missionary sister to go abroad to help those truly in need. Alas, you can only go so far. But it would appear I have reached the end of my living life, for the events of one night will change everything.


	3. The Last Mistake

Night 1

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It was Saturday, September 13th, 1986. I was attending English night class and of course it was the same thing, all the time, every time. Interestingly enough, some of the witches from that orgy were present. After the class was done and over with, I whipped out the Lesser Key of Solomon and read about the Tetragrammaton (a type of amulet reputed to open all doors, humble all spirits, and contain the secret name of God) while I proceeded to my dorm. Tonight, I was going to spy on a new and interesting cult. At the time I forget their name but I know that they were of satanic origins and believe it or not, I heard about vampires being present. I had a strange hunch that something would happen tonight, something that I never seen or felt before but I had expected it to happen further into the night, however.

I reached my dorm room and fumbled with the keys until I found the correct one and opened the door. When I walked in, I nearly tripped trying to flick the lights on. When I did, nothing happened. There weren't any lights. Strange, I thought. I walked further in the darkness of my room, using the light of the hallway as my light. Little did I know that what I was walking into was truly my last mistake. Not far into the room, a blunt object fell upon my head and that was it. I was knocked out.

I awoke in a car, front passenger side. There weren't any restraints on me other then my seatbelt. I looked around and I saw I was in the heart of Chicago. I turned to the driver and saw it was a rather attractive woman, no older then 25, with long brown hair and seemingly glowing green eyes. Interesting, I thought to myself. Perhaps she's one of those cultists who found out about my operations. At an intersection, she reaches under her chair. At first I thought she had a weapon so I thought about unbuckling myself and dashing off into the crowd but instead of being held up at gunpoint, I was given a leather bound Bible. There was a bookmark sitting near the beginning of the good book. All of a sudden she said, "Open it." Figuring no harm would come of it, I did. On the bookmarked page I saw that it was the Book of Exodus. There was a line highlighted. It was Exodus 22:18 and it read, "Suffer not the witch to live." I shut the book and looked back at the woman. It would appear she was concentrating on driving but I knew she was just waiting for my answer. I asked her, "What's this supposed to mean?" We made a left turn and all of a sudden we started to turn away further from the lights of downtown. She said, "A loyal servant of God need not know such heretical knowledge, is this correct?" Perhaps she doesn't understand my profession, pseudo profession anyway. I said back, "I only know of this know of this knowledge but I don't actually indulge or participate in anything. My loyalties are still to Him and only Him." She gave a short laugh and replied, "We'll see." Had I only known what was about to happen.

Soon we arrived at an old apartment complex. It was moderately tall and seemingly inconspicuous. I've actually seen it before but never really gave it any regard, until now. She brought forth a piece of cloth and blindfolded me, with no resistance and soon enough, I felt two people grabbing each of my arms. I was lead forth; willingly on my part since there appeared to be no chances of escape whatsoever in the current situation. They lead me into the apartment and instead of up, we ended up going down a few more stairs. What kind of apartment would have underground floors? My arms soon became free and my sight returned to me. I was inside a room lit only by candles. As I looked around, I saw that there was a rather large congregation inside this moderately large room. But my focus was on the figure in front of me. He wore an imposing red robe not dissimilar to the Satanic cultists I encountered back then, sans the black of course. He wore a gold mask over his face and over his neck actually appeared to be a crucifix of sorts. If it didn't strain my eyes so, I would have sworn there was a skull residing on the intersection of the crucifix. And finally on his hands were immensely threatening clawed gauntlets. To his right was an elderly woman. You know, the kind you would help across the street after she brought her groceries for the week or something like that. To his left was a bald, goatee bearing muscled man with dozens upon dozens of scars ridden all over his torso and assumingly, his back. He was the sort that you'd think was in the WWF or some overly masculine action movie. Although I could not see his face, I could see that he smiled as he pointed at me with his clawed hand and said, "Marcus, we've been expecting you."


	4. The Embrace

This guy clearly had the situation under his control, a bunch of his minions and himself against just me. But regardless, I spoke, "What do you want? How do you know me?" The leader chuckled and said, "We've been watching you." Interesting, I thought to myself. I searched the room again with my eyes and saw that my captor was relatively close to me and seemed to be detached from the rest of the group. Perhaps she was a victim as well. I looked back at their robed leader and said, "For how long?" He answered, "When you began to observe some rather high profile cults of course. Thanks to you, we know where they are." He chuckled once more and said, "But now we are here to decide your fate. You have two choices. Both of them involve dying." Oh shit. He said, "If you choose true death, then perhaps your soul will plunge into the fires of Purgatory to be cleansed of your sins. Or you can choose undeath." Undeath? What the hell were these guys talking about? He continued to explain my non-negotiable fate, "To the common mortal, we are what you call vampires but that's completely inappropriate. We are rather, Kindred. If you choose this fate, your purpose shall be renewed. You will become one of His, the Damned. You will become God's holy monster in this unholy world. You will become His instrument of judgment. What will you choose?" I looked down and took on a look of contemplation. Are you serious? This guy is either going to kill me or make me into a vampire. I've seen a lot of weird things but I think this one took the cake. But had I known what would truly happen, I would have taken this in a much more serious light.

I looked up and chuckled a bit myself. "Man, you guys are real good. Now let's see, what fate should I choose?" I said rather lazily. My words appeared to have stirred the anger of the larger fellow to the leader's left. His patience with me appeared to be waning be the second. Wary of his patience, I decided half-heartedly, "All right then. Let's go through with this. I can't wait to become a creature of the night." The leader seemed to rejoice and with renewed fervor, he spoke, "Do you, Anna, except Marcus to be your childe?" She replied, "Yes." He turned to me and said, "Marcus, do you accept this fate?" I looked at him and said, "Pfft, do I even have a choice?" The leader continued and said, "Very well then. Let the Rites of…" But then I thought flashed before my mind and I said, "Wait! Just one question, why me?" The robed man looked at me through his golden mask for a while and then said, "Did you ever figure someone else would have gotten to you? Had we not chosen you, a far worse fate might have appeared in the not too distant future. Now, let the Rites of Initiation begin!"

Then I saw the man with the huge build brandish a whip and a big smile on his face. Oh shit. This is gonna hurt. My shirt was abruptly removed, exposing my back. I looked to my right and her shirt was removed as well. Wow… But now wasn't the time to be staring at her excellent rack. That could be done later, that is if I'm still alive. The whip-wielding man stood over me, eagerly awaiting to sunder the flesh of my back. The leader spoke and said, "40 lashes each." Well, I wasn't going to be whipped to death but it's gonna hurt like hell. The man unraveled the whip and was about the lay down the first strike but then Anna said something that shocked me. She said, "I'll take his." The man then moved over to her and began whipping away. I knelt there in complete shock. She just took all of those for me and then withstood her assigned lot as well. My God. After the whippings were complete, the same whip brandishing man walked over and grabbed a metal crucifix and began heating it upon the candles. I'm not entirely sure what the crucifix was made of but it heated up real fast. He walked over to me with his burning cross and menacingly, passed it over my face. Then he stood over Anna again. I hoped she would just have the crucifix pass by her face as well but no. The man then pressed it over her face and began to brand her. Her screams were full of pain and terror. I've seen a lot but I couldn't even bear to watch that. Within seconds of the branding, I lost sight and fell down, unconscious.

What had felt like a few minutes but was probably a half an hour or so, I came back to the living world. One of the first things that struck me was that I was laying on a sofa. The very second was the sound of sobbing. I looked over and it was that woman, Anna. She had her face in her hands and it looked like she was crying blood. I wanted to walk over an in attempt to comfort her but I was dealing with another cult, a really crazy one. This one spoke about vampires but it wasn't the same cult I had suspected but it was something similar, nonetheless. I checked myself for bodily harm that might have done to me when I was out. When I was done checking myself, Anna had already recovered and was on her way to me. Amazing. When I saw her face, the burns caused by the crucifix had become nothing more then a light-tan scar. Barely noticeable. I then spoke up and asked, "Hey, are you ok?" She didn't answer. Instead, she leaned over me, put her arms around my neck, and pressed herself on me. Not surprisingly, my jeans decided to get tighter due to the situation. I wanted to say something but it would have completely killed the moment. I thought to myself, "Holy shit, am I gonna get some or what? Wait, her face just got branded and she was brutally whipped 80 times by a huge, bald, and heavily scarred guy. Maybe she's into that stuff. Oh well, can't complain." For some few odd seconds, she hung around my neck. I suspected nothing of it. Then I felt a pinch on my neck. What the hell? What is she doing… ooohhhh.

I relaxed and put my hand on her head. I don't know what she was doing since I couldn't think straight but up to this point and time, there was nothing that could compare with it. Yeah, not even a bottle of lotion, a box of cleanex, and a porno. It was that good. I began to notice that I was getting drowsy. Every passing second, my eyes became heavier and heavier. Then images were flashing over my eyes. I saw my graduation. I saw my successes. I even saw my face on a TV. All of these things, great. Then I felt something. Something utterly horrid. What is this? Some sort of perversion of life? God, what is this thing? It feels so terrible… And then, blackness. I felt myself ascending in the darkness. I looked up and I saw a bright light. Listening, I hear something, something Heavenly. It's a Choir of Angels. At last, I am free to join the Lord in eternal paradise until the Time of Judgment. Then I heard something else other then the Angels. I heard chains, a lot of chains. All of a sudden, heavy and cold chains flung from the darkness and wrapped themselves around me and quickly began to drag me down, away from the Lord's light. I felt something from my physical body as I descended into who knows where. Some kind of liquid was being poured into my mouth and I could have sworn it tasted a lot like blood.


	5. The Beginning of a new Unlife

I awoke on the very same couch again. I was back but something didn't feel right. I looked at my hands and touched them. Weird. It felt like I couldn't feel anything but I did because I knew what it felt like. It sort of felt like when you're outside in the cold too long and come indoors and touch things. You feel sort of detached. My sight soon found Anna. I rubbed my neck where I think she bit me and asked, "What just happened?" She smiled and answered, "You have become one of us." One of you? That doesn't make any sense. She then said, "Come. You must be hungry." I thought about it and felt a deep emptiness inside me. It felt like hunger but with something added to it. Something that didn't feel right. She lent her hand and helped me up. What's this? For the few seconds I held onto her hand, it felt different. It felt like there was something more to her hand then ever. After I was firmly on my feet, she let go and proceeded to lead the way. Strange. Maybe it's nothing. When entered the corridors and proceeded to descend the staircases. I assumed that it was the very same apartment that the ritual was completed in. As I was walking, something caught my attention. My hand, unknowingly, felt the walls. I stopped and began sliding my hand over the wall. Amazing. I swear, I could feel every part of the wall I was touching down to the smallest particle; its presence was known to my touch.

Soon stepping away from the wall and continuing, I looked up and saw a simple light bulb hanging inside a somewhat elaborate lantern. The weak aura of light surrounding it exploded into a halo of vibrant colors. I stood there looking at the light bulb looking like a dumb fool but with good reason. Then I began to hear things. I looked outside and saw two people talking. Both were female and probably freshmen in college. One of them said, "Did you believe what Becky was wearing at the party?" The other one said, "Totally. She looked like a complete skank. Did you see the way Brad was looking at her?" I turned away with disgust, for the talk was trivial but it was to no avail, I still heard their meaningless dribble. But how? I was on the third floor of this building and the window is shut tight but I could hear them as if they were talking to me. I began walking again and as I descended further down the staircases, I heard what sounded a lot like sex. The receiver, female, enthusiastically screamed, "Oh god, YES! Slam it deeper in me!" The giver, male, enthusiastically replied, "Oh yeah baby. There's a reason why they call me the Jackhammer." Now, they either didn't speak or I couldn't hear well because there was a lot of moaning, screaming, and the wet slapping of flesh. Apparently, Anna glanced at my face and looked mildly entertained at my perplexed face. I heard, felt, and seen so many things more then I could handle and soon, smell. I smelt some cigarette smoke coming from the outside where those girls were and what probably was the smell of sex, if that is sex even had a smell. Anna smiled and said, "Is there something the matter?" I finally got a hold of myself, regardless of my hyperactive senses and said, "No. It's just that… Everything's so… How do you…?" She quickly said, "Not to worry. Soon, you'll learn how to control your senses. But for now, just keep following." I nodded and continued to follow her. Soon, we entered a dark room. In the center, there was a man, bound upon a table. The very same robbed leader was in the room as well.

The man walked and said, "Ah. He has become one of us, the Damned." I was confused and slowly walked towards him. Anna stood somewhere in the darkness of the room. The robed man then said, "Come, Marcus. You must be hungry. This should sate your hunger for a little while." His clawed gauntlet pointed to the bound man. When I looked at him, something overtook me. It was that thing that didn't feel right. It was like an animal. It did not speak but it wanted something and I wanted something. I heard something coming from the man. It looked like its source was his neck. It was the pulse of his jugular vein. My eyes widened maddeningly and I felt my upper canines grow in length and sharpness. Then without evening thinking about it, I leapt over to the man's neck and I bit into his neck with my "fangs". As his blood seeped into my mouth and down my throat, the Presence became content and so have I. If there was anything close to what Anna did to me before this, this was it. The man attempted to scream though the piece of cloth around his mouth but I heard nothing of it. A warm and euphoric feeling sweep my entire being. This man's blood filled the vast emptiness inside me, more so then any burger or pizza could ever do.

I was still drinking blindly until I heard his fluttering pulse. I unhinged myself from his neck and breathed. Holy shit. What did I just do? I looked up at the robed man and asked, "What the hell just happened to me?" The robed man strode over the man I had just drank from and said, "Good, you relented. You spared him. But does he really deserve it?" I didn't say anything and continued to watch him. "He steals people's belongings and occasionally, their lives. Many times he could have turned away from his path and seek the path of forgiveness by God. But he never did. He still persists to steal and kill everyday." I said back to him, "That doesn't mean we can deal with him! We should turn him over to the police and let the law…" He interrupted and said, "Mortal law isn't enough to stop the vileness and evil that freely runs amok in this unholy world of ours. That is why we are here." He continued to walk around the bound man on the table. I asked, "We? Who are we?" He turned to me with his golden mask and said, "The Damned. When our progenitor, Longinus, stabbed the side of Christ with his lance, Christ's blood spilled unto him, he transformed through divine means and roamed the land as the very first of the Damned." I then retorted with, "What are you talking about? Longinus didn't become a…" He abruptly replied back with, "And how would you know? The Bible was written with mortal hands. Those who writ the Gospel did not know about us. For centuries, the Lancea Sanctum has existed to keep the faithful, well, faithful." "Lancea Sanctum. The Temple of the Lance.", I said to myself as I stroked my bloodied chin. The robed man then said, "Yes. It is up to us, His descendants, to uphold our great duty given unto us by God Himself." "Our duty to do what?" I asked. The golden mask then looked up at me and said, "To be God's Holy Monster in this Unholy World. We are what mortals fear. It is our sole duty to restore the fear into the people of today so that they may remain faithful to the Lord." What is this guy talking about? I looked at him and said, "I still don't get it. We're supposed to impose fear unto people so that they may turn to God? What the hell is that?" The robed man raised his clawed gauntlet and said, "In due time, Marcus. Soon, you will understand the importance of our duty. Do you care to finish him off?" I assumed a rigid figure and adamantly said, "No! What's your probl…" He raised his clawed gauntlet and said, "Very well then. Anna." All of a sudden, she leapt from the darkness and quickly engaged. I heard his pulse quickening by fear and then getting quieter and quieter until he was no more. During this silence, that was it. I just heard silence. I didn't even hear my own heartbeats. I felt my heart and no motion was emanating from it. I had truly become something. A Vampire, Kindred, Damned; whatever the name, I am human no more.

After cleaning herself Anna turned around and she and the robed one were looking at me. The robed one said, "You must still be hungry. Surely that scoundrel's blood did not sate you." As I thought about it, the Presence was beginning to reemerge again, to demand more blood. But could the Presence not be sate with the flesh of charbroiled beef as I am? I felt it and so did they. I looked up and the robed one asked, "You are very young, childe, so which of us would you like to accompany you? Anna or myself?" Heh, that wasn't a hard choice. I'd rather stalk the night with her then with you. I pointed to Anna and the robed man said, "Very well. Now be on your way." With that, we both left that dark room. We got into Anna's car and left for the road. We got closer to the city lights but made a turn. We still saw the lights but we just weren't approaching it nor were we going away from it. I looked out the window and asked, "Where are we going?" She said, "To Englewood. Hell on Earth practically. The perfect place to feed." To feed. Is this how I am to live? Ordinary people, some I know, are now food? There must be some sort of alternative. "I don't think there's a burger place in Englewood." I said. "Marcus, you know there's no other way. Human food is like dust on our tongues. We cannot eat burgers, tacos, steaks, or what have you. For it will do nothing for our sustenance. This is the only way we can live." No. I don't want to be a killer. I don't want to be a monster. I don't want to live at the expense of other lives. I looked out the window, hopelessly. "Marcus, I know what you're thinking and not everyone is our target or source of sustenance. Only those who commit vile acts against God are what we can feed upon. We are wolves amongst sheep but we do not feed on the sheep that stay faithful. We weed out the goats so that we may feed upon them. In doing so, the other sheep know what fate awaits them if they turn to a life of sin. When they keep on walking on the path of righteousness, then you know that we have done a great deed in the name of God. We save the lost and faithless and dispose of those who do God wrong. Do you understand now?"

I closed my eyes and contemplated, genuinely. So that is my justification. I am no longer human but above them. Is it not like law enforcers or government agents? Perhaps but to a more extreme degree. There's nothing I can do about this. If I kill myself, I only damn myself to an eternity of suffering in the fiery depths of Hell. Heh. So, if this is how I am to devote myself to God, then so be it. I'm gonna teach the Word all right, but this time it'll be so much more effective then ever. I smiled and said, "Heh. Well, you make a lot more sense then the old guy." She laughed a little bit. "What's so funny?" I asked. She said, "Oh, just the way how you refer to the Bishop." "The Bishop?!" I said. "I'll explain later. We're here. Time to get out." We stopped in a dark street with only a few functioning streetlights. The rest weren't just working or were shot out. Without thinking much, I opened my door and walked out but she stayed in her car. She shut my door. "Hey! Where are you going?" She said, "Hey, you're not the only one hungry. I too must feed." I looked around and immediately all feelings of personal security disappeared, despite my state of being no longer human. I said, "Hey, I know. We could be drinking buddies! Eh? Eh?" She laughed and said back to me, "Someday, Marcus. Someday." And then after that, she shifted gears and drove away, leaving me in the dark streets of Englewood, the most dreaded town in the Chicagoland area.


	6. First Night Out

Author's Note: Explicit material in this piece. Otherwise, enjoy yourself!

Now, it has come to my immediate attention that Englewood isn't the place to be. Especially at night. Formerly it was a nicely developing community but soon after its establishment, gangs and drug lords took the town mercilessly. The town quickly deteriorated and the process is still continuing to this day. Some people demand social reforms in Englewood. Others take advantage of the town's lawlessness and are doing whatever they want and probably making a quite a lot of money for doing whatever they do. Well, you can't argue that there's not any evil in this town but seriously, how am I supposed to handle myself?

Anna's car was long gone. I watched her car until she made a right some three intersections away from me. Damn. I shrugged and began walking down the sidewalk. A good 10 minutes have gone by without incident. Then I hear some talking up an alley I was about to pass up. So much for going about Englewood without incident. An African American dressed in a "gangsta" style obstructs my path. He stares at me with an intimidating demeanor. He says, "Hey cracka, what the hell you be doin' here?" I said, "Shit man, I was just kicked out of a car and left here. Listen, can you tell me how to get outta here?" The man smiles and says, "Aight man. I'll tell you how to get out, after you give me yo' fuckin' money, bitch." He pulls out what appears to be a Beretta 92FS and quickly points it at my face. "Hey, hey. Take it easy man. Just let me… Oh son of a bitch." I felt my pockets and of course, I don't have my wallet. Without a word, he fires three rounds into my stomach. I doubled over and I know it's supposed to hurt, but something was up. I looked at my wounds and they had already sealed up like nothing happened. Whoa. I looked around and in the dark I spotted some plywood. I leapt over, rolled, and grabbed it. Right when I grabbed it, I was shot once more in the arm and shoulder and that was it. The Presence awakened once more and I leapt at him and slammed the plywood clean over his shoulder. I took the opening and quickly sank my fangs into his neck and I drank, deeply. I drank and drank with full intentions. I pushed him to the very edge of life and then lightly pushed his weak body over. I looked at his unconscious form while wiping the blood off my mouth. He'll probably die if he doesn't get help or get carried away by some rival gangster or something like that but you know what, shit happens. This wouldn't have happened if he didn't stick me up and just gave me some directions. Before I turned away and headed into the lit streets, my last words to him were, "Oops, my bad."

Another good 10 minutes go by without incident. All of a sudden, something comes into my view. Under a streetlight, still functioning surprisingly, it would appear to be a prostitute. I waited and the Presence wanted more and she was the only one around. Before I approached her, I checked her out. What's this? There's this weird aura around her. It's green and I'm not sure what but something's telling me that means that she's a greedy one. I began to approach her from the darkness. She sees me and looks at me with some mild interest. She says, "Hey, whatchu be doin' round here, white chocolate?" That's it? Do you not see the blood on my shirt? If that doesn't disturb her then man, this place is bad! I ask her, "Do you know what kind of dangers this job can present?" Her facial expression is of confusion and she says, "Well what do you mean? I've been tested and I'm negative for everything." I look away for a short moment and then look back at her and say, "I don't mean those kinds of dangers." She says back, "You are talkin' really weird, sugar, but all of this talk is getting me bothered up." I smile and say, "Well, if you really wanna see something weird, let's go over there." Pointing to the dark alley away from the streetlight. She says, "Ok, but I charge $50 an hour." "Oh don't worry baby, you're gonna get your payment in full." Great. I've never had any sort of serious or romantic relationship with anyone but I convince a whore to do me in a dark alley. But then again, I guess that's not really surprising at all now is it? We waste no time at all. I begin to kiss her deeply but then turns it into a French kiss. Wow, this feels really weird now. I undo her front piece that's supposed to be an excuse for clothing and move down. I begin sucking and licking her left breast while me left arm works the other. My right hand moves down and works her slit. This is going down for a good 8 minutes or so and then I begin to work my way up. My hands were still occupied by I was moving up, making a trail of kisses, and completely hiding my intentions. Lost in heat, she doesn't notice and I have to maintain self-control, although it wasn't that hard since she was just your everyday ho swiping good money from descent, but sex deprived or horny, people. And in an instant, I bit in and drank. Oh God, it's so good. Must be from all of this. Her blood tastes so good. I can't stop drinking but I have to. But she did not incur any direct infraction other than her choice of career. But it tastes so good! And the euphoria and warmth rushing my entirety didn't help me either. I pushed her to the very brink of life but not as far as the last dumb fuck. I gently let go and place her so she was resting on the wall. Her life signs are weak but she's in much better condition then that last guy. I wiped off my right hand on her front piece and look back at the prostitute. She'll live the night.

Speaking of the night, there's not a whole lot left of it. I don't know what it is but something's telling me that I don't want to be near the sunlight when it comes out. I try to see if I can sense Anna somehow with my newfound powers. Nothing. There's nothing left to do then to find a hideout until the next night. Quickly and stealthily, I survey the area. A couple of blocks down, there was a walled up house. I was thinking about finding an abandoned warehouse complex but there isn't any in Englewood. I inspect the house from the outside and find nothing wrong. I walk up to the house and try to listen if anyone was inside. Nothing. I walked over to one of the windows and find an opening large enough for me to fit through. I go in. Everything's going smoothly. What the hell?! I lost my footing on the outside. I fall through a small wooden table and make a ridiculous amount of commotion. Then I heard them. Voices, upstairs. Sounds like there's three of them. One of them is coming down. I look around and spot a crude knife. I stealthily and quickly take it and amongst the rubble and debris, I find a standing man-sized cabinet and hide in it. I look through the small crack and see a large African American totting an AK-47. Great. He looks around for a while. Nothing yet. He's turning around. Oh shit. He's walking over here! And best of all, he's looking right into my eye. He turns around. Wow. I hear the rest of the group come down. I begin to focus on the guy with the AK. His aura is a mix of purple and red, meaning he's in an angry disposition and yet, he's afraid. All of a sudden, someone says, "Hey man, is this deal gonna go down or what? I need my shit right na' if yo' know what I mean." I hear a sharp slap and someone saying, "Shut up bitch! You goin' get yo' crack as soon as the area is clean."

All of a sudden I notice something in the AK totting guy. He knows I'm here. There's no other choice. I ready my knife and prepare myself. I could feel something inside me. All of the blood I've drank so far, it's flowing into my muscles! I feel stronger then I ever have in years! But enough amazement. I violently burst from the cabinet and stab the guy in the stomach. He's screaming and going full auto but he's not hitting anything. Instead of shooting me though, he brings up the butt of the automatic and smashes my temple. The guy who smacked the druggie pulls out a Colt Cobra .38 Special and fires. I felt the bullet enter my side, rip through my organs, and emerge out the other side in an explosion of gore. I roll on the floor and I look at the AK totting guy and literally take another stab. This time, it was in the heart. His pulse quickly ceased. I began to rush the drug dealer and he shot me a few more times in the chest. I kneel down out of exhaustion. He walks up and pistol-whips the top of my head. I felt so weak. But as soon as I thought about it, the bullet holes sealed up and my head was throbbing but it was all because of the healing of the fractures in my skull. With the healing process ending rather quickly, I grapple the drug dealer. I was awfully thirsty from all of the usage of blood and I bit into him. I spared the last other two lives and killed the last guy with a knife. This one. This one will be the first to leave this world by my very nature. I drank, drank, and drank. Each passing second, his pulse weakening and weakening until silence. I unhinged my fangs and dropped him onto the floor.

I looked at the druggie and walked over to him. He didn't look like the sort that needed slaying. In fact, he's not far from the flock. I stood over him and with a rather non-intimidating voice I said to him, "This is the fate that awaits all sinners. But you are not lost yet. Return to God and be His faithful servant and never turn away from Him again. Ever." The druggie looked up at me and said, "Oh yes, thank you! Praise Jesus! PRAISE JESUS!!" Then he got up and ran as quickly as he could out of the building. Then I felt something disappear. The rush. It's gone. Oh shit. There are two dead bodies on the floor and I personally killed them! Oh damnit! What have I done?! Well, not all is lost. These men were evil and I'm sure they've had many times to repent but they have rejected His kindness and mercy. They got what they deserved. And I've returned a sheep back into the flock. All is well, until I took a look out the window. Holy shit! The sky is orange and blue. The sun's coming up any second now! All of a sudden, I felt the Presence take control of me. I made a mad dash to the other side of the staircase and tore away some debris and found a trapdoor that lead underground. It opened the doors and leapt inside and closing the trapdoors. All of a sudden, darkness.


	7. Meeting up with the Gang

Night 2

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Strange. I actually know that I'm sleeping. But it's really not like sleeping. It's more or less that you're just being a dead body. Your chest doesn't rise and fall from breathing nor do you feel your heart beating. You're just kinda dead. Suddenly, I feel the blood in my body flow through me, giving motion to my once motionless body. I crawl to the crawlspace door and crack it open a little. It looks like the sun had just set as the sky is still stained dark orange and blue. I crawl out of the crawlspace and look around the sty I actually slept in. I turn around and I see two dead bodies. No way. Upon a closer look, I see an aura, but not from the bodies, but from the insects around the corpses. Ok, they're really dead. What am I gonna do?! Ok, the bodies have to go and a body drained of blood doesn't sound like the greatest thing to see in the news. I grabbed his shirt collar and started to drag him to the crawlspace I just emerged from. Oh what's this? Ugh. I dropped his bloodless corpse and rearrange some heavy chairs and other furniture. After kicking a table or two out of my way, I continue to drag the body to its final destination. As I drag the body, I was tempted to recall my vampiric strength but this is too trivial of a matter to summon such power. Finally I stuff the corpse deep into the crawlspace, placing some random debris on top and around the corpse to help conceal it. As I step out of the crawlspace, my ears pick up the sound of a car, parking outside. I can only tell that it's two people, one female and one male. Shit! I didn't even hide the other guy's corpse yet. I armed myself with the crude knife used last night and hide myself in the very same man-sized cabinet and wait.

As they come closer, I begin to recognize the voices. One of them is Anna, the other is the old guy. It seemed as if they were continuing from a conversation that took place outside. Anna said, "And this is where he should be." The old guy says, "Hmm. A dead body, relatively still full of blood and a severely tattered and bloodied shirt. Something definitely took place here." Deciding that I should no longer hide myself, even though I'm un-presentable as hell with my bloodied and torn jeans and my bare chest, I still decide to reveal myself. I begin to slightly open the cabinet door and the cabinet heavily creaks. About mid-step, I stop. I feel something, something strange. The Presence awakened and bade me to look at the old guy. I did and the everything faded and became unimportant except him. I saw something inside the old man as well and it was looking at me. The Presence inside me deemed the old man the apex predator and that we should back down. It took a while but I gathered my wits and actually stepped out of the cabinet. The old man says, "Ah, there you are." I look at him, strangely. Not to be offensive to the old man but at my amazement of how amazingly normal he looked. He was wearing a white polo shirt and some khaki pants. And if my ears do not betray me, I thought I heard something of an English accent behind it. And he actually isn't that old looking, but until I find out more, I'm just gonna refer to him as the old man. I look at my sire and the old man and then the body. Shit. Quickly I said, "Oh, that. Heh, heh, funny story actually. See, after a night of feeding, I was looking for a place to crash for the morning and I found this house. Abruptly, these men came down and attempted to kill me. The scuffle was brutal but quick, ending with two corpses, one right there, and the other stuff in the crawlspace I slept in, bloodless, and saving a soul from their brutal fates. Oh, don't worry about the other guy, he was a complete druggie. He'll be the only one to know and believe what actually happened here last night." The old man nodded and said, "You know, had this not been Englewood, their screams would have alerted the community and it'd be all over the news. But come, we have other matters to attend to."

We walk outside and the night sky has already darkened. We're some 25 to 30 feet away from the boarded up house and the old man pulls out a Zippo lighter and ignites it. He turns around and says, "These people nor this house will be missed by anyone. You might want to turn away." Turn away for what? It's not like fire is so obscene or anything like that. The old guy tosses the lighter into the home and quickly, the flames begin to devour the wood of the home. Oh God, what is this? I'm so far away from the burning house, but it feels like I'm actually in the hungry flames itself! The Presence knows my fears and I begin running further away from the house. Even though the Presence's instinctive command is strong, mine is stronger, for I've put the Presence back in its place and get a hold of myself. I ran some 20 feet away from our former position. When I came back, Anna and the old man were in a car. The car was of last decade's design and was baby blue. I get into the backseat and immediately, calming classical music strikes my ears. The old man was driving and Anna was in the passenger side seat. The old man says, "Ah, classical music. Marcus, do you listen to classical?" Why isn't the old man creepy or I don't know, being creepy anymore? I put the thought aside and respond, "Yeah, all the time. It's the good stuff." The old man approvingly nods.

We return to the apartment of my rebirth and enter the lower chambers once more. As we went down, I felt something inside me, something unsettling. I dismiss the feeling and continue to follow. Finally, we enter the room where Anna subjected herself to inhumane pain for me. I was given a bucket and directed to a bathroom inside the room. The old man said, "This is the final stage of your rebirth. When you emerge from that bathroom, there are some new clothes in that room over there. Now go on." I shrugged and entered the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I look around. It's a relatively clean and normal bathroom in a frightening place. I look at the bucket awkwardly. What the hell am I gonna need this for? For sometime, I just kinda looked at the bucket and then it hit me. Aw, it feels terrible. I literally feel several of my organs move about in my body. I threw up my appendix, gallbladder, kidneys, and a couple of smaller organs into the bucket. Then the worse came. My entire stomach was twisting inside. Oh, for the love of Jesus, help me! In a torrent of green bile, I threw up what used to digest human food into the bucket. The worse was over. I look at myself and from an average build I went to slim. Amazing. I go under the sink and grab a paper towel. I turn on the faucet, soaked the paper towel, and clean my face off. I raised my face from the paper towel and looked into the mirror. Man, this thing is really dirty cause I can barely see myself. I scrub the mirror with the wet paper towel. Still no change. I scrub a little harder and still no change in my image. I look closely at the mirror itself and it was relatively clean. It was just me. Why do I look like a piece of abstract art? Deciding not to contemplate any longer, I make use of what I can of the mirror and hopefully combed my hair. I emerge from the bathroom and Anna is no longer there but just the old man. He nods and points to the changing room. I walk in and there is a wide variety of clothing, a good number of them ranging from casual to straight up formal. I choose another pair of jeans, a casual black shirt, and a pair of black buckled dress shoes. I emerge from the dressing room and the old man gives me an approving nod and says, "You'll surely make quite the impression tonight. Come, for we must go."

We get into the same baby blue car outside. Before we started for the road, the old man said, "We've listened to classical on the way here, we don't you pick something?" I thought about it and said, "Hey, how about some jazz?" The old man turns on his radio and flips to 95.5 FM, the city's local jazz station. As we drove into the night he says, "You know, they say that Chicago is one of the birthplaces of Jazz." I respond, "Yeah. The city had a rich history with the development of black culture and I must say, Jazz has to be one of their best accomplishments." The old man nods in agreement and says, "Indeed. But this city has its fair shares of other unpleasant things. We're not the only Kindred in Chicago. There are many more with their own covenants. Their ideals are heretical and beliefs are complete rubbish." I turn to him and ask, "Well, who are these other vampires?" He says, "They are the Carthians." Carthians? So, in this World of Darkness, there's more to it then drinking the blood of others. There also appears to be a sort of political intrigue as well. Interesting. I ask the old man, "Who are the Carthians? What do they want?" He says, "The Carthians are a group of upstarts. They want change. They wish to adapt mortal methods and ideologies. A bunch of rubbish I say." The Carthians. They don't sound that bad of a group. Are they? Well, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut about it since I don't want to earn the old man's ire. I turned the topic, or so I thought, when I asked, "Where are we going that's so important? Not to meet with these Carthians, correct?" He says back, "I'm afraid so. The first Sunday of every month, all of the covenants come together in a meeting called the Elysium. It's to bring up and settle any disputes between the covenants and announce any news that the covenants should know. Ah, we're here." I look and questionably say, "The Shedd Aquarium? What are we doing here?" The old man says, "As you know, the aquarium can be rented out for private uses." I nod my head.

As we step out of the car and begin to trek up its marble stairs he turns around and abruptly says, "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Laurence." Laurence eh? I seriously wouldn't suspect a guy named Laurence to be wearing a huge red robe, a golden mask, and gold-clawed gauntlets. He extends his hand. I reply to the gesture and shake his hand and say, "Well, you already know me, Marcus." He says, "Ah yes, yes, Marcus. Now remember, when we go inside, refer to me as Bishop. Understand?" He gave me one of those looks. It wasn't demanding but it was kind of like a wink. I nod and follow his lead. We head towards the arena area where the whale and dolphin shows occur during daytime hours. He turns around and says one more thing. He says, "Now remember, no matter how strong the urge is, do not run away. Just calmly follow my lead." I nod in acknowledgement and follow him up the ramp and into the arena. All of a sudden, I feel this terror, a terror that I'm familiar with. Yes. It was like when Laurence stepped into that house and I attempted to move into his presence. It didn't work. This time though, it wasn't as bad as the first time with Laurence but it was still awful. I feel this ugly dread nearly engulfing my sensibility. But I stop myself from hysterically running away. I follow Laurence up the stairs and occupy an empty row. I look around the area and spot quite the characters. There was a bunch of people dressed in blue-collar fashion clothes in the left corner of the stadium. Over by the top-center were a bunch of guys in business suits. Below them were a lot of old guys, older then Laurence by the looks, wearing some seriously outdated clothes. But hey, they kinda looked snazzy so at least it's a plus to them. And over there are a bunch of guys wearing robes… Holy shit. They look like the guys from Bachelor's Grove! I really can't see their faces and I'm not sure if they can see mine. Let's hope that they can't and won't.

There was plenty of talking. It took me a while to notice but in the pool area where the dolphins normally do their thing, there was a floating platform with torches on each corner and an elderly woman sitting upon it. She didn't look as old as the lady during my creation, but she was still old enough. All of a sudden she raised her hand. All of the vampires silenced themselves. Everyone seated themselves and I followed Laurence's suit. The old lady then says, "What business is there of tonight?" One of the blue-collar guys stood up and shouted, "Matriarch, the three other covenants: the Invictus, Ordo Dracul, and Lancea Sanctum are being rather difficult with us. They harass in our harmless and beneficial activities for the city with their archaic Traditions." The two groups of suited fellows quietly scoff and scorned at the relatively normal looking working class fellows. Laurence, or rather, the Bishop says nothing of it. The old woman says, "The issue will be resolved. Is there anything else?" Then Laurence says, "The Lancea Sanctum has news." She then says, "Of what, Bishop?" He then says, "There is a young one among us." He motions for me to stand. I do and look about the stadium. What the hell am I supposed to say to a lot of creepy looking people? Well, here goes nothing. "My name is Marcus Tobin, uh…?" I look down at the Bishop and he mouths Sanctified. Oh yeah! "Sanctified of the Lancea Sanctum. I am honored to be here in your presence. Is this well, Bishop?" He nods and says, "Indeed well, Marcus." He bid me to sit down. The Matriarch then says, "Is there anything else, Bishop?" I look at him and I see something in his eyes. He's up to something. He says proudly and boldly, "No, nothing more, Prince." Everyone in the stadium gasps in horror and shock. Is there something wrong with the name Prince other then the fact that the Matriarch isn't a guy? The Matriarch, clearly pissed as all hell, says, "Bishop! You know not to refer to me by that name! Come forth to receive your punishment." The Bishop rises and goes forth to proudly and fearlessly receive his punishment. There is a firebrand by the water. She says, "Put your hand into the fire. Then you shall know to respect me." The Bishop then thrusts his hand into the fire and says, "You know, the good book says to those who are thrown into the flames for believing in Him will feel the heat yes, but as the flames lick their flesh, they come forth from the fire, unharmed." He quickly withdraws his hand, unscathed and the fire, burnt out. He begins to walk towards the ramp we entered from. I stood up and began to follow. The Matriarch rambles on angrily and nearly falls off her little platform. The suited men come to her rescue. Silly, silly folk.

We get back into the car and drive off. As we increase our distance between the city lights and the suburban streetlights, I was amazed at the Bishop's feat. "Bishop! How did you do that?" He says, "It's a small power that allows me to bath in fire with no harm done to me. Although it only lasts for so long before it gives out and exposes me to the fires' cleansing abilities." Amazing. Perhaps this divine purpose of ours isn't an illusion after all. Something else also struck me. The guys in the robes! "Bishop! There were a few fellows in robes that looked dreadfully similar to those I've encountered in Bachelor's Grove." The Bishop acknowledges and says, "Ah, I've heard of your previous exploits, spying on dangerous cults and such. I've heard of a mortal who've seen one of the Circle's rituals and demanded his life. Do you now see why Anna and I were so prudent upon obtaining you?" I nod my head. This unlife is without a doubt, damnation, but this damnation is the lesser of the two evils, say become something's sacrifice in some other dark ritual that may conduct. Another thing, actually. "Bishop, if I just ask you this one more question, what was that horrid feeling that I felt when you stepped into that house or when I was in the Elysium?" "Ah. That Marcus is the Beast inside you. All vampires have the Beast. When two vampires come into close vicinity, there is a contest between the Beasts. If the one's Beast deems itself lower then the other, the Beast and yourself are effected negatively." "Ah, so it does have a name."

We stop and to my passenger side, there is a warm and welcoming house. I sigh and say, "It kinda looks like Grandma's house." The Bishop says, "Ah, your Grandmother. Such a delightful woman." I turn to him. "How do you know Grandma?" "Mrs. Lynnette Barker Tobin. When I was in need of a few supporting dollars or two, I would work with her in the soup kitchens of St. Daniel's." No way. He knew Grandma? He did tell me her first name and maiden name! What is that? Wow. This guy is really something. He then said, "Well, off you go then Marcus." I get out of the car and look back. "Good night, Marcus." I nod my head and respond, "And a good night to you too, Laurence." Laurence chuckles and drives away. As I see his baby blue car drive off into the night's embrace, I hear something behind me. I turn around and Anna approaches me. It's nothing too elaborate that she wears, but it still can't hide that slammin' body she has. But such carnal thoughts were instantly washed away when she revealed a rather vicious looking steak knife and says, "Are you ready?" Uh oh. I'm not too sure what she wants to do with that knife, but I know sure as hell that we're not gonna be slicing any vegetables tonight for dinner.


	8. Natural Urges

Night 4

-----

For 2 days, I've been with Anna, training and honing my newfound powers. Every night is a treat since I just get to look at her. What's the price? A few stab wounds and gashes. But I wasn't trying to jump into her pants. It was actually from training for one of the special abilities we Mekhet receive called Celerity, a technique that greatly enhances our speeds to superhuman levels. One night, while watching the news about a new group of kids arising called "Goths" (seriously, they weren't there when we sacked Rome!), Anna approaches me. She says, "You haven't fed yourself in 3 days. Here's the car keys. Go out and feed. Oh, and try not to make too much of a mess this time." After that, she walked away. So, here I am with car keys and the night ahead of me. Nice.

I get into the black car and put the key into the ignition. But before I turn it, I ponder, where shall I go? Not Englewood. Although I do miss my black brothas and sistas, I'm not quite ready to get shot with automatic weaponry again tonight. Hey, the news mentioned a place where the Goths frequently gather and party. It's the nightclub called Neo. Surely a drink won't be difficult to find there. But I don't have my wallet. Son of a bitch. I have to go back to the dorms and get it. I bet the cops and school officials will be hounding the area and looking for me. But what else can I do? So I turn the key and the car awakens. And so I begin my trek back to St. Xavier University.

I pull up into the parking lot. There's students coming to and from classes. Quite normal for 8:00 PM. I find a dark spot in the lot and park there. When no one's in sight, I make my dash into the shadows. Strange. Some part of me feels at home in the darkness. Moving stealthily from wall to wall, I make it to my window. I lift my hand up and attempt to open the window. Blast. It's locked. But there is a ladder here and I know for a fact there is a roof access up there as well. This could be my best bet. I begin to scale the ladder with no problem. Oh shit. My foot slips and while I didn't fall and am not at dangerous heights quite yet, I made quite a bit of noise. Then someone from the light came forth. She said, "Marcus? Marcus? Is that you?" Oh shit. I turn and it's that girl from English. No, not one of the fine witches but still, great in her own right. Ah, Christine! That's her name. But I can't do much in my present state. Quick, make shit up! "Hey Christine!" She says, "Marcus, where were you? We've been worried sick!" I turn to actually look at her and I don't know why but she looks so fine right now. Her long orange hair, deep green eyes, those supple mounds on her chest, the curves of her hips, and oh, those legs… GAH! What am I thinking?! This isn't the time or place! "Ah. Well, I had to attend to family matters that were urgent. I had no time to tell anyone. I came back to get some stuff but I kinda left my keys in my room." She sighed and said, "Do you need help getting in?" "Well, yeah. It'd be nice." She bade me to come down and I did.

We entered the dormitory halls. I thought this place was clean but with my newfound senses, I quickly discovered this place is garbage. Wait, what's this? Moaning over in dorm 115? Mike and Julie?! Man oh man, that's not gonna last for long. We finally reach my room and as suspected, the door is firmly shut. Christine then pulls out her credit card. "What's that for?" "Oh. See, if you slid it in and push right, you can get the door to open." I try my hand at this new technique. Nothing much yet. Wait, wait! I think I… no. This is so irritating! I give the credit card back to Christine before I accidentally break it or something. A few seconds later, she opens my door. I walk into the darkness of my room. I could have walked in, grabbed my things, and that was that but she's still here. I turn on my lights. GAH! The light! It's painfully bright. But my eyes soon adjust. Suddenly Christine gasped. "What?!" "Marcus! Why are you so pale like that?" I look at my skin and it is rather pale, but still believable. I tell her, "Oh this? Yesterday or something, those guys I hang out with went to the forest and I forgot my jacket." She replied, "Oh. Well how come I wasn't invited?" As I was grabbing my books and such, I said, "Believe me, you wouldn't want to. We're a bunch of freaks. Trust me on this one." She nodded. While still gathering things, she looked at the mirror. The mirror! "Marcus, this mirror is so dirty." "Yeah I know. It's impossible to clean." "Well I can give it a go." "Nah. Don't worry about it. I'll be getting a new one later anyway. The mirror is trivial."

After packing my books and pocketing my dorm keys and wallet, I headed out. But Christine said, "You're taking all of that with you?" "Well yeah. Grandma is still on the iffy side and I have to be there for an extended amount of time." Wait, what is this? It's the Beast! It demands blood now! NO! I swear there will be blood later! Not now! Not now! As I was fighting the Beast down, I felt my fangs begin to grow and sharpen. I shut my mouth and cover it with my hand to conceal them. By the Heavens, it's so hard to fight back this time. But I managed it. My fangs recede back and the Beast is silent.

"Marcus. Marcus! What's wrong? Are you ok?" After clear sight returned to me, I saw Christine looking concerned for my health. I realized I was fiercely gripping the table edge, complete with popped up veins and my forearm muscles clearly defined. I release the table and turn to her. Man, she's gotta be like, what the fuck was that? "Oh man, it's that nausea from that forest trip. Sorry for the scare but it just acted so suddenly." "But you're ok, right?" "I'm fine, thank you." I recuperate for a moment or two. Christine and I spoke of old times while sitting on my bed. All of a sudden, she says, "So are you doing anything tonight?" Well what brought about this question? Using my ability of aura perception through the gift of Auspex, I searched out for what she was feeling. Oh. Oh! So, apparently she's coming on to me. Yeah. She wants to jump my bone, hard. But this isn't the night or time. I'm kinda hungry and as much as I would love to be inside her, I can't take any chances with the Beast in its current state. "Sorry Christine, I really can't do anything tonight." She kinda looked down and sighed. Don't lose her! "Um, I think I can come by in a week or two to get the rest of my stuff since, well; family matters have yet to be settled." She looked up and said, "But you'll be around by then?" "Generally, yeah." Her face brightened up, despite the supposed grim situation of mine, fictionally and in the recent reality. She asks, "Do you have my number?" Naturally, I didn't. So I got it and with a wave of her fingers, she bade me goodbye, for now. I'll fondle her another night.

After she left, I shut the door, turn off the lights, and leave through the window and back into the car, relatively quick. I open my wallet. Ah, thank you Lord I am upper middle class! I'll have plenty of more money since I don't have to buy food anymore. Alas, all of that soda going to waste. Now, I do recall that I am not in the Goth fashion. Time for a trip to Marshall Fields! Several $100s later, I am decked out. Knee-high boots, fine black pants, casual black shirt, and an awesome black trench coat. As I smile, I say to myself, "Oh yeah, I can live like this."

I finally make it to the club. I pay the trivial fee to enter and I'm immediately immersed into another world. It's really dark, save for the dark colored lights flashing about as its excuse for a light. There's a large congregation of leather-clad people on the dance floor chanting something about "Bela Lugosi is dead." Ok… As strange as this place really is, it's gonna be really easy to find a drink around here. I join the throngs of chanting Goths and join in their wave in an attempt to find someone suitable. Nothing. As the song changes to some other somber melody, I approach the bar. There are plenty of people with their drinks in front of them. Funny, their drinks sit in front of them and mine, the very same people looking at their beverages. My eyes home in one this one particular woman. I don't know, but there's something about her. I sit besides her. She says, "Hey, I haven't seen you around here." I reply with, "Long time lurker, first time speaker." She laughs a bit. She turns and says, "My name is Marsha." I reply with, "Marcus." She nods her head in acknowledgement. As the music plays, and the people sway, we make a lot of small talk. In time, her defenses begin to lax and the small talk got personal. All of my personal info of course was partly fiction and truth, but mostly fiction. Overtime, I was using my ability of aura perception to see how she was feeling. I wasn't getting anything strong but she wanted something. I really couldn't tell what it was but I must continue.

Finally, she says, "You're really great company, Marcus." "Thanks. Say, I think it's getting a little too crowded in here. Wanna go somewhere else?" "Sure. Let's go over there." I try to see her aura again. Oh yeah, it's clearer this time. She wanted something all right. She wanted something to fill her up right. Well, she's not gonna get any from me, but I think we'll be both satisfied with the results. That is if she can remember what is going to happen. We head into this backroom in the Neo. I can hear other things can definitely qualify as illegal activity but hey, shit happens. Speaking of hearing things, I hear her breathing get deeper. Before I can say or react to anything, she throws herself onto me locks lips with mine. She embraces me with her arms as our tongue writhe together. I'm put in the corner and I allow her to disillusion herself as if she was in control. Before stripping herself completely of her clothes, she came in close and began to bite my neck, nipping at it rather. This action aroused the Beast from its silence and I had no disagreements with it this time. I pull myself to her neck and with my very real fangs; I sank them into the pale flesh of her neck. As the warm and sweet blood flow into my mouth, I close my eyes in ecstasy, for the feeling of drinking blood is indescribable compared to anything else. I attempt to listen to her pulse as I drink. Ah, it is getting rather risky now. I unhinge myself from her and prop her weak-self into the corner I was forced into. I wipe away any extra blood and then walk out of club Neo.

Ok, seriously, I never got this close to getting any action when I was still able to walk into the sunlight. What's up with that? Do I all of a sudden get more attractive when I'm dead? I guess that why there are those people into the whole necrophilia thing in the world, eh? My skin tone looks livelier then before and there's actually a false warmth when one touches my skin. Not only that, I do feel rather full so I won't have to hunt for a few nights. I get into Anna's car and drive back to her place. I wanted to find a little rest, but to my dismay, there is only a hot looking woman with a steak knife in her hands again.


	9. Thoughts to Myself

Night 5

-----

I awoke the next night on the couch again. Heh, just in time, the 9 o'clock news just started. Meh, nothing much is going on as of now. It is raining outside as the weather forecasted as of now. I look at my body. Last night, I don't think I was slashed as much this time when I was training with Anna. But still, I have a way to go learning Celerity. But I think I got the Auspex thing down real well, actually. Speaking of my sire, she steps out of her room wearing a semi-formal outfit. "What are you wearing that for? Don't tell me you're taking me out to dinner or something pleasant." She shakes her head. "You silly childe. We're going to another creation rites ritual. Make yourself look decent." I nod my head. "Will do." Without much thought, I put on a black shirt, a pair of blue jeans, my black trench coat, and finish it off with those neat looking black buckle dress shoes from the Elysium event I went to with Laurence. Speaking of Laurence, I wonder how he's doing. Although I'm sure I can't talk to him today. He'll be conducting the ceremony. We get into the car and drive off. There was some jazz music on. The beats, smooth, and the lyrics, fitting for this rainy night. It wasn't anything depressing or somber but relaxing actually. But this still didn't sate what I was wondering. So I asked, "Hey, so who's the new guy? What did he or she do to deserve the same fate as you or I?" Calmly, she said, "His name is Damien Zeidan. He was chosen for his sin of Sodom. What his sire will go through will be especially terrible this time." The sin of Sodom? He's gay? I have no problem with this but damn, the Lancea Sanctum are really cracking down on sinful behavior aren't they? "Especially terrible for his sire? What about you?! Your face was branded with a searing metal cross! And you were lashed 80 times! Can it really get worse then that?" "That was a mere penance for embracing you." Penance? For what? I voiced my thoughts to her. She said, "Although it adds on to the numbers of Sanctified, it is a sin to embrace a childe. It's the price we all must pay if we are to embrace a childe." I looked forward out onto the road. I will never forget what she took for me. I was unscathed and yet, she was subjected to some terrible things. Should I thank her or would that seem trivial to her? Maybe some other time. I've yet to give this new existence of mine any good thought.

When we reached the apartment, there were plenty of cars in the parking lot. Was the parking lot full like this on that fateful day? We walked down a couple of floors and entered the ritual room. It was full, as expected and we blended into the crowd. I wanted to get a closer look so I move through the crowd until I got a good look of the new guy. Well, he appears to be a strapping looking fellow with no features of the stereotypical gay guy. Although, I really shouldn't be thinking about stereotypes. Such assuming classifications of people should and is below me. The guy next to him, the sire, looks about the same. He's really handsome with tall, broad shoulders, and a lean body. It's no wonder how this Damien fellow was lured in. Ah. There he is. The red robed nightmare with a face and clawed hands of gold. He spoke. "Damien Zeidan. You have committed the great sin of Sodom. You have sold your flesh to the devil. But, there is a way to redeem yourself. Both involving dying." Damien remained silent. "You can choose death. In several 1000 years time, the cleansing fires of Purgatory will cleanse your soul and allow entry into Heaven. Or you can choose service and become one of us, the Damned." Damien didn't say much for a few moments. It's not too surprising since the event is rather sudden and terrifying. Suddenly, his head lifted up and he said, "Service." The golden face nodded and said, "Let the creation rites begin." He stepped back. Then the very same buff and scared guy came out with an already glowing hot cross. He menacingly passed it by Damien's face. Then the sire's shirt was removed and the brand was pressed into the middle of his chest. Damien kneeled there in shock and I really couldn't bare to look. I closed my eyes and looked away. Although I could not see, the chilling screams were more then enough for me. When the screams silenced itself, I opened my eyes again. The deed had been done and whippings were about to begin. The golden face raised his finger and commanded, "50 lashes each." What?! That sire is going to suffer 100 lashes?! The buff guy comes out and readies the whip. Again, it would appear as if he was about to lay down the first strike but the sire comes to the rescue and takes all of them. After the agonizing 25 minutes of whippings, I thought the worst was over. Then the robed nightmare commanded again, "Now on to the deed." Then all of a sudden, the buff guy plucks out the sire's eye! What the fuck! The sire gets up and barely makes it to Damien. Then the embrace began. He drains all of Damien's blood. Then from his eye socket, blood drips down from it and into Damien's mouth. That is messed up. Then an hour goes by and Damien awakens from his death sleep. All of a sudden, the sire brings up his eye and presents it to Damien. The robed nightmare stands besides Damien and says, "Eat his eye to prove that you are loyal to us." What is this? No matter how much I want to look away, I'm held by this horrific intrigue about the very first creation rite that I'm witnessing. He says, "No." The robed nightmare nods his head and says, "Good. Good. Well, you must be thirsty. You can sate your hunger on that woman over there." I turn my head to where he pointed and low and behold, a tied up homeless person on a table. I didn't even notice that she was here. But then again, I was too intrigued and a little sickened with the whole ritual going on. He leapt onto her neck and drank and drank. Will he get a hold of himself or will he allow the hunger to drive him onwards to her death? I listen. The woman's pulse was getting more faint by the second and it looks like Damien isn't letting off anytime soon. She's gone. I think I've had enough of this. I walk out of the crowd and find my sire, Anna. I look at her and as if she read my mind, she nodded. I left the apartment.

I think I'll take a nice, brisk walk to Grant Park. It's a little tiring but I knew it was going to bit quite a trek without Anna's car. I finally reach the park. It's tranquil, sans the roving cars and other vehicles. The fountain drew my attention. The way it changed colors was pretty neat, especially with my improved senses. And the masonry and design of the statues were pretty cool too. It was absolutely amazing to see the lights before they were to shut off for the winter. But it is really worth all of this? The Lancea Sanctum. Are they just feeding me the whole "God's predators of the Earth" junk or do we truly have a divine purpose? I lift my head towards the moonlit sky and ponder. Lord, you haven't forsaken this faithful servant of yours have you? I look at the fountain again and take a gander at the water. The water flows to and fro, regardless of whatever obstacle obstructs its path, it finds its way to the other side. Perhaps I should be like the water, going around my own obstacles and finding the truth, no matter how long it takes. I have an eternity to do it.


	10. Desperation

Author's Note: Italicized text is the Beast speaking.

Seriously, I'm done contemplating. I walk about Grant Park a little longer but there really isn't much to do around here. I head into Downtown. It isn't bustling with people on the sidewalks and there is some traffic on the streets but not too much. I turn the corner and all of a sudden, it isn't all bright lights of the city anymore. This is the bad side of the streets to be. There's seems to be a scuffle going on in the alley just ahead. As I reach the brink of the edge, I see 2 individuals. One of them is white. From the looks of it, Irish actually. The other one is a tall black guy. I try to scrutinize the situation but the black guy turns around. And I see the huge pipe he's holding. Damn. He leaps at me with his raised pipe. Quick, a weapon! Ah, that trash can lid should do. I raise my shield in front of me as he continuously bashes upon it. Hah, this probably would have been a problem had I been alive but this isn't the case.

I take a swing and it connects but it doesn't do too much to the brute. He swings at me again and I defend with my shield. The pain is only superficial at worst but that's about it. As he pulls back from his latest swing, I focus the blood into my shield arm and take a powered swing at him. It connects and it did a little more then an un-powered swing but that's just it. He swings at me again and I bring up the trashcan lid. Gah! The bones in my forearm broke as I was defending. Damn. The bones can only take so much before they give way. I will the blood to mend my bones. It stings, but it's better then just broken bones. As my bones mend themselves, the guy is madly bashing my shield with his pipe. I've been here before but he's upped the speed. Upped the speed huh? I willed some blood into my legs and as soon as he pulled back, my superhuman speed kicked in and I dashed behind him before he knew it. Here's a swing to his head! Damn! It only grazed the side of his head and served only to piss him off some more. He shouts with angers as he swings again. I wasn't fast enough and it got me good in the ribs. A lot of them broke. I grab my sides and kneel down on one knee as I defend against this guy's unremorseful assault. After the last strike, he opens his mouth to reveal a pair of fangs?! He's a Kindred too? I have no time to see his aura to confirm it but this would appear to be the case. Although he's just revealed himself, his attacks seem to be slacking. I will the blood to mend my bones and then will them once more into my muscles. I leap at him from my crouched position. It didn't knock him down like I wanted to but I think I broke something in his chest. He grabs his chest and steps back a little. I was still recovering from my attack. Oh damn. I watched helplessly as the pipe furiously came closer and closer until it made contact with the side of my head.

I spun in the air and was down on all fours. _It'd be easier if you just let go._ What? And let that monstrosity take over? _Do you have much of a choice? He's about to come back with another strike. And this one might down you permanently, Marcus._ Shit. It does make a point. I've been using a lot of blood to keep up and I don't think I can much longer. I suppose it must be done. But I shall not let the Beast have complete control, rather I shall saddle it and ride its fury. Very well. I let go of myself and I feel the Beast's terrible power take over. Everything is like a sketchy shade of red and black and the only thing I see is the opposing Kindred. The Beast raises the trashcan lid and brings it down hard with one strike. The Kindred takes it to the head harder then any of my other attempts. He staggers back and has no time to recover, for another heavy strike comes down on his head. This time, he falls onto the floor. The Beast strikes his head continuously. Ok, I think it's time to stop. I almost reeled it in but it escapes my grasp. The trashcan lid at this point has become useless and the Beast had thrown it away. It curls my hand into a fist and raises it. ENOUGH! As it was about to bring down an enraged strike upon the Kindred's face, it stopped. I was in control again. God that felt weird. I was really weak from the lack of blood. I looked upon the beaten Kindred and slowly but surely, his severe wounds were healing up. There wasn't a lot of time left. I didn't know what the time was but the Sun is due up pretty soon. I looked at the guy in the corner and the Beast howled. _It helped you! Why not take this one? Just this one!_ NO! He did nothing! He doesn't deserve anything from neither of us. It howled in agony but I silenced its whining for now. I picked up the downed Kindred and find an abandoned warehouse nearby and dump him there. I run out and find another empty one but its metal doors are locked. I try to kick it down and within 10 kicks, I made a dent in it. This won't do. I quickly take my chances and leap into the previous warehouse and subsequently bury myself in a lot of debris. That doesn't matter now. My consciousness was fading away as the sleep took me over.


	11. Something Died in the Inside

Night 6

-----

I woke up and found myself amongst debris from yesterday night. Oh shit. There's that other vampire from last night. I use my gift of aura perception to see what insights my acute senses has to offer about him. His aura is pale orange, indicating that he is indeed a Kindred, due to the paleness of the aura, and that he is indefinitely afraid, the orange part of the aura. I rise out of the debris and brush the dust off and head for the doors. As I pass by, he snarls at me. I turn around and he's in no condition to rise and fight. He really looks like an actual corpse. As I reached for the door handles, I turn to him and give him a few last words. "What you did last night, that is not how God's predator goes about the sheep." He spits back, "Come back here and I'll show you a predator." His voice is guttural and deep. He sounds like as if he was struggling with the Beast himself. I said, "Tch. Show some appreciation. I didn't have to drag your sorry ass back here." He growled and said, "Fascist fuck! She'll hear about this!" I thought about whom this crazed Kindred could be talking about. Then it hit me. "The Matriarch eh? Pfft. Well, should you ever decide to repent for your sinful ways, you know where to find us." I pulled open the doors and left the Kindred to his madness. Ugh. I clutched myself and hung to the walls. The hunger was strong, yes indeed. I wasted a dreadful amount of blood from last night. Ah, the Beast calls. _Must feed._ Yes, I know. A hunting we will go. The Beast rejoiced.

It didn't take long to find a meal. My sights soon found a young man. He's oddly dressed like an African American gangbanger but he's white. I quickly lose control of myself. My vision goes into those sketchy flashes of red and black and all I see is him. He draws his gun, a Colt 1911 model but to no avail, he cannot fire it for I am upon him within heartbeats. I bite into his neck and savor that euphoria rushing my entirety. I see something as I feed. I see that this man has caused much pain and ruin to many lives and will continue to do so, should I allow him to live. This I cannot allow. He is the second to fall to my nature. He finally fades away and he drops to the floor. The sketchy red and black vision faded as well and I look at the corpse. Strange. I don't feel guilty for killing this man. I recall a passage from the Testament of Longinus that Anna hammered into my mind. It was:

"I am God's holy monster, the drinker of mankind. For so long, I could not see the role I would play because I looked for it with human eyes. So I put forth the truth within these pages, for you who seek as I have sought. I am not some godless beast who stalks beneath the dark grandeur of sanctity. I am the Grandeur. I am the Sanctified."

-The Testament of Longinus

Even with this kind of support, I can't help feel that something had died inside. A part of me that was me when I was alive died when I killed this man. But what can I do? I will not fall into the Beast's hands, but I cannot keep going on like this. If I am to find the truth, then I had better accept some of the truth that I have seen and done. I noticed some minor pain to where my fangs are and felt them. The gums around them had been ripped, for the fangs have revealed themselves with no preparations from my gums. Not like it was a problem or anything, but the Beast was rather erratic with its behavior. I kneel down and take whatever money he had. Some few $100s but that's about it. I grab his gun. As I held it, another vision struck me. I see another gangbanger, black this time. He was shooting up a man with this very gun and a woman to the side was screaming. As soon as he was done with the man, he pointed the gun at her. A flash. The vision ended there. My God, what was that? Is that another aspect of Auspex as well? I'll have to consult Anna about this newfound ability. I switch the safety on and pocket the weapon. I turn around and the door was clearly torn down by force. Was that by my hands as well? This guy wasn't in the streets. I just busted into his house and took him. Well, I'm not sure if I could call this a house. It looks like garbage, really. This is just a place he just drops of stuff and leaves. No matter. I go upstairs and abscond some more ammunition. On his dresser, there's a piece of paper. There's an address to somewhere in Skokie, in the north side. I pocket it, just in case. I go downstairs and look at the bloodless corpse of the gangbanger again. I take the corpse by the collar and drag it downstairs. Damn, this thing hasn't been entered or used in years. I drop him behind the stairs and put some junk around him. I go back upstairs and wonder, should the house be destroyed. I mean, Laurence burned down the house in Englewood without any thought. But then again, it is Englewood, but this area is nearly as bad too. But the collateral damage it would cause. People live in the neighboring complexes too. _Why are you denying what you really are?_ Because I don't need to pointlessly kill people. The terror I am to inflict upon the Kine is not without purpose. Nothing more is heard from the Beast.

I step aside the remains of the broken door and being my long trek back to Anna's house. But before that, I'll pawn the gun. Not far, a pawnshop is present. I walk through the doors and, oh God! What is that smell?! These supernatural senses don't come without their price I suppose. The pawnshop is pretty empty of wares and the shop owner looks surprised to see me. Ok, what is that garbage he's got on the radio? I know there's something called good rock but this isn't it. Not only is my sense of smell being horribly assaulted in this shop but my sense of hearing as well. I quickly sell the weapon and its ammunition and get an extra $100s out of it. I quickly leave the shop and head back to Anna's place.

It was a fairly long walk but I knew what to expect. I reach Anna's doorsteps. I lift up the little welcoming doormat and find the keys to the car and house. I shake my head and close my eyes in disappointment as I hold the keys in front of me. Seriously, does she have to place them under the doormat? There has to be a better way to hide things like keys to a vehicle and the house. Oh well. I hop into Anna's car and drive into the city. I recall a martial arts supply store somewhere up north. I park in front of the shop and enter. There's a guy in a white gi of the Shotokan discipline of Karate. Although he looks professional, I sense that he's really not that good. Oh well. He sees me and says, "Is there anything you need?" "Nah. I'm just checking out stuff." He nods and gets back to his routine. I peruse the wide variety of swords, polearms, and other blunt, sharp, or potentially dangerous paraphernalia on sale. Hmm. A foot and a half long kukri knife for $160 sounds nice. It'd definitely scare off some opponents and I'm sure that wicked reverse curved blade will easily dismember any body part. But it is rather big for a personal weapon. Ah, look what we have here. I ask the guy for some assistance and he shows me the combat knife of choice. It's got a similar curve to the kukri knife but its size greatly sized down. Its total length including handle and blade is about 11.5 inches long. It's even got a double-edged blade and the top part of the cross guard is sharpened as well. And it comes with a nice leather sheath. Nice. Expensive to the everyday person but I'm not the everyday person. Yeah, I lost $130 but I know this thing's going to come in handy in the very near future.

With the hefty blade strapped around my left shoulder, hidden under my trench coat, I walk back into Anna's car. I was about to drive back but I brought out that address again. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to have a look at the place. I drove up to the place and found myself in front of a nice looking house. The neighborhood looks like a promising project, simply because it's away from the corrupting city. I get out of the car and look at the front of the house. There's nothing out of the ordinary. I jump the fence to the backyard and check out the back of the house. Nothing suspicious. I didn't want to enter the house since the risk of waking the entire neighborhood is impossibly high, if I screw up. I get back into the car and drive back.

On my way back, I thought about the remnants of my past life. According to those who know me and are still living, I'm still a missing person. People like my parents, Lucía, Christine, and the guys. Christine only knows of the lie I've woven for her and that's about it. Everyone else, I'm sure, are clueless as to my whereabouts. I see the woman in a couple of days. I still need to evacuate my stuff from my dorm. I'm definitely looking forward to tapping that fine fiery orange haired woman but, how am I to keep her quiet about me? I'm not sure how controlled I can be if we're gonna do what I think she wants to do. I wouldn't doubt she'll feel the pleasurable sensations of what Anna told me was called the Kiss but that'll give me away. How to keep her quiet that is the question indeed. _There's always the blood._ What? The Beast did not answer any further. What did it mean by the blood? Oh well. Just another question I need to ask Anna about.

I park the car in front of the house and enter. Strange. Either she's sleeping or she's not in the house. Oh well. I take off my coat, take off my shoes, put my knife in the coat, hang it in the closet, and prop myself on the couch with the good old Testament and read and read until the sleep came to me.


	12. Rejoice! For thou art Damned!

Night 8

-----

I haven't been doing much for the past 2 days other then wasting my time watching some TV. One can only be entertained by TV for so long however. Later tonight, Anna was home without my notice. She had informed me that I was going to Mass with her today. I shrugged and put on my best gear. When Anna had emerged, she looked as if she was dressed to kill. Her velvet dress fit tightly on her, defining her perfect features completely. I followed her out the door and hopped into the car. I couldn't help but stare at my sire. I wondered if she knew if my prying eyes were undressing her. If she did though, what would she do? Heh. It's useless trying to stop. Just go with it.

Soon enough however, my ogling time has come to a halt as we stop at a dingy looking church. There's a dim light too dim for humans to see but bright enough for other Kindred to see. Anna opened the metal gates and just as we stepped through the courtyard, a church bell from across the town sounded 12 times. It was midnight. As we entered the congregation, the Beast was gripped with fear and with it, I too. The Beast sensed far too many predators that were of higher stature then it. But I knew something like this was to be expected so I controlled my fear and with it, the Beast. Soon Mass had begun with the Bishop emerging fully garbed in red robes and the infamous golden claws and mask. Around him were 4 acolytes garbed in black robes. One of them was the elderly woman. The other was that crazy BDSM guy who messed up Anna's face and backside some 10 days before. Another was an elegant Ventrue type guy and the last one was a mysterious Nosferatu. The Bishop did the entire Mass in Latin, surprisingly. There was a lot of emphasis on blood, punishment, and revenge did I caught? The Mass was about to end but before we were to be released, there was one more item on the list to cover, the Eucharist. What could it possibly be? 2 of the acolytes went somewhere out of sight and soon emerged with a gagged and bound woman. Good God. The Bishop said some few good words and brought out a chalice and 2 gilded bowls before beginning. He used his golden claws to tear open her clothes. Under normal circumstances, I may have approved at the sight but this was too horrifying for anything else to matter. He said more prayers and then lifted his mask only so his mouth was seen and took a sip from the woman. She moaned under the gag with a mix of pleasure and pain. The same was repeated with the 4 acolytes. Finally, the Bishop began to scrape her front side, arms, legs, back, and face. She was held up by 2 of the acolytes and blood flowed freely into both bowls. For a good 15 minutes she bled until there was no more. She only died about 3 minutes into the draining process. Then, Bishop Laurence bade the laymen to rise and receive the literal cup of blood. As I stood in procession, I had wondered if this was right. The bowl was in front of me. Should I take it or not? I didn't know the victim of if she had committed and crimes that would have justified her fate. I'll lament later. I shouldn't interrupt the ceremony even if I do disagree with it.

After all of the congregants have taken their fill of the blood, the Bishop had bade us to go to do the holy work that we are damned, cursed, and fated to do from now until the time of the Apocalypse. I sat in the pews, deep in thought. Had I done the right thing? What was she here for? I still wasn't grasping too clearly the fact that I'm supposed to be the God monster sent as a divine instrument on Earth. The horror had still lingered, bringing up my human morals which still clung on to me tightly even in my undeath. But as if she read my own thoughts, she responded with, "Do not feel guilty, for that woman murdered her own 3 children." I looked up from my lamentation. She did? Is this my dreadful work for God? I asked her, "If that is so, then I have done nothing wrong." Without glancing at her, I said, "Tell me. Is this how the knights who slaughtered countless of Muslims felts during the 12th Century?" I glanced at her and saw a smile on her face. I knew her answer. I stood up finally and said, "There is nothing more for me to say. I have done no wrong tonight. Let's get outta here." Soberly we returned to the car and drove back to the haven.


	13. Fun with Anna

Stepping into her front room, I propped myself on the couch and realized there was nothing on TV. Finally, I had become idle. There is no activity for me to partake in. I looked up at my sire and asked, "What are you going to do tonight?" She then gave me this look. Maybe I haven't noticed it in her eyes but I certainly recognized what signal it was giving off. I'm hungry. She then went for the door. I promptly followed the suit; still in my church going gear and making sure I'm packing my knife just in case anything goes awry tonight. The guilt of the night had thoroughly disappeared and my ogling self returned rather quickly. She still in that velvet dress. So awesome. So she then said, "Have we ever fed together?" "I don't think so." "We will remedy that tonight." Her tone of voice told me something was definitely going down, or up tonight.

How funny. We end up at this place called the Haven as well. It's a big crowd in there but Anna had stridden in fearlessly. I tag along behind her. Inside, bumping techno was playing. Anna and I took a seat at one of the tables. Already, she had scoped out some potential victims. There was a guy with his girl. I can't say too much for the guy, but his woman on the other hand was pretty nice looking. Her hair was done up in a ponytail and she wore a black corset with a lot of fishnet. There are never enough fishnets I tell you. But the cons were the pale makeup and awful plastic fangs on the both of them. I thought I came to a club, not a Bela Lugosi convention.

Anna got up and dragged me out of my seat with superb strength. She came around and started to dance with me. Then she came up to my neck and dragged her teeth on my neck. I couldn't help but shudder with pleasure for that moment. She then whispered in my ear, "Go and get her." After parting with Anna, I strode to the target in question. As I approached she looked up and down my figure. She then asked, "What's your name?" "Marcus" She seemed pleased with the response. She then told me that she was, "Lilith, the Mistress of Dark Pleasures." The guy then seemed to try and intervene but I directed his attention back to Anna with my comment of, "Dude, don't you have something else to look at?" The woman giggled approval of my suggestion. I than told her that, "I am just a poor initiate in this dark world." The man then turned to me and said, "I will teach you the ways of the night then young one. I am Flavius, Lord of Darkness. I have lived for 300 years." The both of these fools have got to be joking but I guess I gotta go with it for now. "Well met Lord Flavius." I extend my hand in friendship and we shake on it. He seems a little surprised at how cold my skin is. All of a sudden, Anna appears in front of Flavius and starts putting the moves on him. Damn is she fine. Lilith begins to get antsy a bit like her man before but I redirect her attention to me. She informs me of magic that she knows of. Really? "Is it best if practiced in the public or somewhere else a bit private?" She purrs to me, "It is best that we learn alone. In fact, why don't we all go and learn?" Spotting some shady spot towards the back of the club, we wade through the crowd to get there.

When we enter the room, there are several chains, restraints, numerous sharp objects, and whips hanging on the wall, ready for usage. What the hell man. I am not into this stuff. I'm too domesticated with the traditional and normal stuff. I knew I should have checked out some of the stuff in the specialty row. And right in the middle is a large bed with red and black satin covers. Anna and Flavius waste no time getting to work. The jump right on the bed and start undressing each other in a paced manner. I discard my trench and begin my work on Lilith while somewhat keeping an eye out for Anna. She first noticed my fangs, growing a bit in length due to the hunger. "They look so real!" she exclaimed. Oh damnit. "Oh! These are caps you put on your teeth. I just decided to put these on while we were coming here." I lied. It slid by easily enough. She then grabbed one of the sharper things from the wall and brought it close to me. I stood back a little. "No cutting" I stated. She sultrily replied with, "Oh. You like to wait." I brought her close and she told me to kiss her. I go down to her neck and drag my teeth along her neck like Anna did to me. She too let out a moan of pleasure and pain. I turned her around so I could observe Anna while I work on Lilith and undoing her corset. What the hell? Flavius is tying up Anna onto the bed with cloth restraints. Damn this is weird.

As alluring they are corsets suck if you're trying to remove them but it was worth it. Roughly I'd say Lilith is packing some 36D cups. Yeah. Before I realized it, my shirt was removed as well. Before any contact begins, I'd best make it look like I'm still alive. I will the blood to run through my veins to give my skin a proper tone and warmth. Ah, and there's the familiar rising feeling I would get, had I still been alive. My hands get right to work on the prize I had unlocked. Ah! So soft and firm they are. Hard to believe they're real actually. I've busied myself a lot by handling her while pressing myself against her backside. Hold up for a second. Why is Flavius whipping Anna with that thing with nine whips on one handle?! Strange. Even though she's tied up and being whipped, Anna is still in control. She's such a damn pro. I've been handling the fun bags for sometime and decided one of my hands should wander elsewhere while the other tends to the fun bags. My right hand slowly slides across her belly and down to her nether region. Wow! Is she hiding some lube up there? If she did, the cap fell off. Her juices can trip and kill someone if they were to slip on it. She doesn't stand up to my fingers very well. She turns around, forcing my hands to be removed of their operations. As I finish licking off the remains of her fluids on my fingers, she wildly attempts to remove my belt. I assist in the process and again, before I knew it we were on the black and red satin bed along side with Anna and Flavius. I look to their direction and see the Flavius was about to enter my sire with his, um, dagger compared to my sword. Huh. Anna had torn through her cloth restraints already. Gah! Looking at Flavius is going to sheath my blade, even if rigor mortis had struck only that part! Lilith had also opened herself to me and awaits my entrance. I place my piece and begin to enter. Oh my God. The wetness of her walls and it tightening around me was incredible. It was nearly as good as feeding.

My senses were going haywire. With the sounds of the people outside, the techno, and the activities in this room, it felt like as if fifty TVs were blasted to maximum volume. But as I focused more on where I was, about forty-eight of those TVs turned really down or off but two of them remained on. All of a sudden, I smelt the distinct copper smell of blood. I turned and saw that Anna had scraped Flavius's back. Wait. I looked down and saw that there was some blood by Anna. She's a virgin?! What?! Flavius asked if this was her first time doing anything but no answer had elicited from her. Just her lustful moans filling my ears. Focusing on my relations with Lilith, I pleasantly discovered she was highly flexible. When we returned to the Missionary some few fifteen minutes later, I could not contain myself anymore. My eyes looked that of a madman as I released inside her and abruptly bit into her neck, drawing my fill from her. She screamed of pleasure and pain, more of the former than of the latter. I just couldn't believe how much pleasure and physical gratification I was getting from simultaneously feeding and climaxing. As difficult as it was, I finally pulled out and lay down by Lilith. As she looked into my eyes, she just said, "You are a god." It's my first time for real with anyone and I aced with a great looking chick and was praised with a performance that cannot be replicated by any mortal man.

I stood up from the bed and stroked her hair and said, "Rest well Mistress. You have taught well tonight." She attempted to say something but she drifted off into unconsciousness due to her lack of blood. I got off the bed and began dressing. Anna was approaching me, more or less dressed. She then wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "See? Feeding doesn't have to begin with violence, fear, and hate. It can be fun too." I realized that when I fed on Lilith, her blood seemed a bit sweeter. Something was there that lacked in other victims. All the times I've fed were in moments of violence, fear, and hate. This was just straight up lust and it was damn good. And as if she had read my mind, she then said, "When I was embraced I was a virgin. It heals up should anything ever happens to it." I was wide eyed and dropped my jaw to the floor. She has the tightness of a virgin for all of eternity!? Imagine the possibilities! There's just too many! She smiled as she passed by my shocked state. "Well, are you going to get dressed before the dawn?" I quickly made myself proper before leaving with my rather surprising sire. Getting out of the club was horrifying, as several obese ladies had obstructed my path by dancing in front of me. Longinus's journey through the desert with no blood is more merciful then this.

Anna and I hopped into her car for a rather silent car ride back to her haven. There wasn't a lot to say. I would occasionally look at and try to undress her with my eyes but my mind was too battered. Just when we got home, the sky mingled with blue and orange. We went to the basement together and got on one bed. She wrapped her arms around me. I cautiously followed her initiative and wrapped my arms around her. She rested her head on my chest and soon enough, we fell into the sleep of undeath, together.


	14. Turn up the Heat

Night 9

-----

My eyes opened as the sleep of undeath released me. I was in a dark basement and in a bed. Lying beside me was my sire who is still sleeping very deeply. She's so great looking. I could try something… No. Knowing her by now, she's somehow reading my thoughts now and would spring out of the sleep and decapitate me or something equally horrible. I put on some proper wear and go turn on the TV upstairs. Not a lot on. There was a campaign ad for the Republican Party and something on Dateline about spousal abuse. Gay. I turn off the TV and much to my dismay I am found idle again. Hmm. You know, I haven't scoped out Anna's room. I carefully enter the room and try to listen for movement downstairs as this action may result to some horrible deed done to me. I open up some drawers and the closet doors. Just clothes. Nothing unusual. I open up some of the other drawers closer to the bed that she never uses. Hmm. There's a silver revolver in here. It's loaded and ready to blast whoever is unlucky enough to be at the end of this .357 Ok, we got the weird stuff here. There appears to be some strands of hair, some dried up insects, and… Is that someone's hand? Ugh. And a bloodied silver dagger. I'd like to pick it up but the whole silver business has got me a bit spooked since I'm kinda dead and usually our movie counterparts don't like silver. Oh well. I overcome this fear and pick up the knife. The blood is black. It's been a while since something was stabbed with this weapon. There isn't too much special about it other then the dried up blood. I put it back down and close the drawer. What? Is that the phone ringing?

I walk over and questionable pick up the phone. Hello? "Hello sir! Are you interested in the new cable service?" Err no. "It comes with 50 different channels!" Maybe some other time. "Very good sir. Next week perhaps? We'll be having a new offer by then." That's great but uh, I don't think this is the right time now. "There's porno." What? Are you authorized to say that? "Well no. But I can tell that you're the sort who'd like that. You know, when I was your age, all I wanted was some great porno and…" NO! STOP! I hung up the phone. Jeez, what the hell was up with him? He was a total creep. **Ring, ring!** NOOO!!!! I unplugged the phone in front of me. **Ring, ring!** NOOO!!!! I ran to the next phone and unplugged that one too. **Ring, ring!** STOP IT! As I ran to Anna's room to unplug the final phone, the answering machine next to it went off. "Anna! Put your childe back in line. Also, there's something's going to happen. Something bad. Just keep your head low and keep that gun ready." It was the cable guy…

So something's going down huh? I hope Anna doesn't miss her car too much. Grabbing the proper gear and her car keys, I begin the night. I've been driving only for a few minutes and something catches my eye. A gun store. More Bang for your Buck. Meh, why not? I park on the curb and walk in. I see a rough looking guy in near full hunting gear. "Welcome to More Bang for your Buck. Firearms and firearm accessories. How may I help you?" I'm just looking around, that's all. "Yeah. You know, the nights are getting more dangerous with all of those niggers out there." Yeah, I know. Being shot on several occasions and being physically attacked by a Kindred version helps ram home that concept. The guy leaned over the counter and said, "Listen, I'll give you any firearm of your choice for 50 off. Sounds good?" "Sure. I can use something like this sooner or later." My eyes soon spied upon the new H&K USP with a gleaming stainless steel slide. Soon enough, I was loading up some magazines with some 9mm bullets and slapped a clip into the gun. The guy said, "Do you know how to use that thing?" I looked at the gun and then back up at him. "I think I do." He chuckled and said, "Just make sure to turn off the safety when you're going to use that thing. Now I got free gun lessons if you need to know how to use that thing properly." "I'll take up the offer in the near future." I was about to leave the store until he said, "Oh! I still got those high caliber pieces for the Bishop for hunting down those beasts." What? He's just another guy isn't he? How does he know of the Bishop? Does he know what the world really looks like or is he just a nutcase? "I didn't know Bishop Roger Kaffer spent his time hunting fairy tales." The guy laughed and said, "What ever you say kid." I walked out of the gun shop with new confidence with my new friend, but there's something about that guy…

Speaking of the Church, I'm curious to, as how's that putting up. Shifting gears, I begin my drive to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Lake View East, the primary Church of the Archdiocese of Chicago. I pull up to the curb and check out the scene. Apparently something wasn't right. There are some security guards around the Cathedral entrance. My senses sharpened as I searched their feelings. An intense red aura surrounded their forms. They're agitated and pissed off. Someone did something that the Archdiocese didn't like. I got out of Anna's car and easily slinked through the darkness past the guards. I reached the side of the Cathedral and saw a civil worker trying to erase some graffiti off the wall. It depicted a pillar with wings on the side of it and on the bottom it said, "God is dead." Man I don't like this. Once more, I used the inky darkness to cover my escape.

Nearby, I spy a phone booth. A woman just ran out of the booth crying horribly with a bent and bloody clothes hanger, oh my God… Anyway, trying to avoid whatever she left over, I call up my sire. "Hello?" "Hey, it's me. I'm just over here by Lake View East and someone left some graffiti on a Cathedral that shows a pillar with wings and underneath it says, "God is Dead." "Those bastards again. What ever they say, don't listen to them." I didn't know who or what she was referring to but I didn't bother asking since I would be denied a proper answer anyway. "Oh, so you know this guy in a gun shop called More Bang for your Buck?" "Oh Ted? He's a ghoul. He'll help you out anytime." "Oh, so that's what he is? I didn't know that. He said something about the Bishop and his order of high caliber weaponry at the ready." Anna laughed a bit. "Did he? Well I'll inform Bishop Laurence of that. Anything else, Marcus?" "Yeah, I'm gonna head down to that mystery address that I told you earlier about." "Ok, just be careful. Did you happen to get a gun at Ted's shop?" "Yeah." "You should be set then." "Alright. I'm out." I was about to leave for the said location, but my curiosity about the symbol and whoever is associated with it was peaking. I have to know.

I drove to one of my former stomping grounds, Cassandra Vision. Ah, the smell of sandalwood greets me as I enter the store. The clerk looks up at me. It's one of the older ones working this shift I guess. She gives me this look as I wonder through the aisles. "So, how are you, Marcus?" "I've been ok." "I see. So Marcus. Why are you up so late? Shouldn't you have morning classes to wake up for?" Again with that look! Does she know something? No, she can't. Or does she? "Morning classes? Not so much anymore, unfortunately." She nods. "Err, listen. Do you have any books that contains a symbol depicting a pillar with wings?" That set something off in the clerk. She looks at me more tensely than before. "I'm sorry but we don't have anything like that here." "Huh. Well, maybe you guys have something in the aisles then."

I slip in between more aisles and try to scope out the clerk. What the? I can't see her aura. It's like she's got something that's blocking my senses. I don't like this, but I'm gonna extract as much info as I can before something else bad happens in here. I happen myself into the back section of the store, where I get some of my older books concerning subjects and topics some would call me insane for looking at. I finger skims across book backings as I look for something pertinent to the winged pillar but nothing is coming up so far. What the? Where'd the clerk come from? She grabs my shoulder. "Look, the Mysterium want nothing to do with your kind or dealings that you have." What the? After she was done talking, the entire store around me disappears. Am I outside it? How did I get here? I never got that treatment when I was still one of the living. I'm just as I was when I was alive, sans the need for blood, death-like sleep, and getting toasty in the sun but still! I'm gonna try my luck with Cassandra Visions another night. It's the only place that would seem to have everything I need but I don't want to be sent to somewhere unsavory either.

It wasn't long until I make it out to Skokie to the said location. It's just as I left it 3 nights ago. I tried to scope any activity inside the house but even with my heightened senses, there wasn't too much of anything going on. Thanks to my past reluctance in gym, I had quite a time making it over the fence but nevertheless I prevailed. Figuring the front door is most obviously guarded somehow I went around the back of the house. As I walked, I heard some growling. Most be the owner's dog. Shit, it's gotta be some ghouled rottweiler or something nasty. I prepare my knife and brace myself for what vile beast that would emerge from the corner. I can hear its breath. It lusts for my flesh but it shall have none! Come beast! I shall, what the… You've got to be kidding me. It's a fucking poodle. I nearly piss myself all for a damn poodle. Shit. I sheath my knife and walk past the poodle. The poodle itself was barking until I got closer. Then it just ran back into its little house, silenced. It looks like an ordinary backyard. No signs of occult rituals or anything going on here. There's a sandbox too. Does this home contain children? I hope not. I see if there are any openings I can use to get in. Huh. The backdoor is shut up pretty firm and the windows too. The windows also are shaded so I can't see anything inside. Damn. I guess the only way in is the front. I move to the front and check out the doorknob. As expected, it's locked. But what if… I bring out my credit card and think back to Christine's technique and give it a shot. What the. Damnit! It's not gonna be long until this thing cracks in half! Ah! The door gives to my card.

As a close the door behind me, I begin to observe the interior. Whoever owns this place has some job because it's pretty kickin'. With great stealth, that would make Sonny Chiba proud, I enter the kitchen. There isn't much in here. What the? Oh shit! Someone's coming down here! I make a silent run by the staircase and spy a door that assuming leads to a basement. I enter the door and sit near the top of the staircase to listen. Someone is stomping down the stairs. Ah. They've locked the front doors now. "Who's in here? Anyone? C'mon!" He walking to the kitchen and picking up a phone…

The resulting phone conversation as follows…

"Hey man, I think someone is in the house or something." "Are you a retard or something? Why the hell you call me for this?" "I just wanted to…" "Look, grow some fucking balls, grab a gun, and give him a damn lobotomy!" "Alright, alright, man." "Is that it?" "Yeah man. Have a good night." Click.

Looks like he's done with the phone. Where is he going? Hmm. Oh shit, he's packin' heat. "Ok. Whoever is in here come out right now so I can blow your fucking brains out!" Ah. Not so welcoming anymore is he? I descend the stairs and behold the basement. It looks atypical for this kind of guy. A small fridge over in that corner, a TV, some couches and table with porn mags, some weights, and a rabbit in a cage? I'm safe for now. That guy is looking in all the wrong spots. _Creak_. Oh damnit, I spoke too soon. Looks like he's gonna scope out the basement. I move to the side of the staircase and draw my knife. I grip my knife tightly as he descends closer. There he is! I move in and tackle him. Unfortunately it doesn't give me the results I expected but nevertheless, I plunge my knife into his shoulder. Ah, now that's a nice blood squirt. That's not enough though. He raises his gun and pistol-whips my head. I will my blood to reconstruct the minor crater in my skull. Damnit all though, it hurts. I place another stab in his other shoulder and pin him to the ground with the knife by his neck. "Who are you?" He's not saying anything. I press my knife to his neck. "What are you doing? Your operations?" Still no response. And he's healing too! I quickly shift my knife to his heart. "I've been wondering about the legitimacy of all those vampire movies. Let's test it out here and now!" Before I was able to raise my knife however, I saw his arm. I had no clue what he was doing but the Beast suddenly called out to me. _Run_

Without a single thought, I ran up the stairs. The man had torched himself and the house was catching fire rather quickly. I dove out the window and rolled on the lawn. I slowly stood up, looking not so different from a frenzied animal on a National Geographic documentary. Grabbing reigns of my senses, I slowly walk to the car. It doesn't matter that my trench is bloodstained. The blackness of it should cover it. All of a sudden, a cop pulls up. Oh shit. Time to play it cool. He comes up to my window and it begins. "Are you in a rush somewhere, sir?" "No officer." "Doesn't look like that to me. Want to start talking?" "It's the wife you know. I just gotta put some space in between her and I for now." The officer laughed a bit and said, "Heh, I know how that is. Well, you have a good night then sir." "Thank you, officer." He walks off. Nice. I start up the car and go. **KABOOM**

Ah. The house's time was close anyway after the burning dude. Hey, that cop is coming up fast with his sirens and lights. Shit. I shifted gears and hit the gas. I turn some corners but I'm not losing that cop anytime soon. I knew this Starsky and Hutch kinda thing never works in real life. Soon enough, the cop cuts me off. He comes out with his revolver aimed at me. "Come out with your hands in the air!" There's no use trying to run from this one. I get out of the car with said hands in the air. With his gun still trained on me, he pats me down and confiscates my knife and newly purchased gun and off I go to the station, downtown.

Soon enough I find myself in the slammer, but I'm able to weasel out of them one phone call to anyone. Aw shit… But who? I don't even know where Anna is but if I do get in contact with her, I can get into some deep shit with her. Hey, what about Ted? It's so unlikely that it might work! I dial in and I hear the tone. It's not long before I hear the voice of my favorite gun salesman. "More Bang for your Buck. Firearms and firearm accessories." "Ted, it's me." "Well hello there!" "Yeah… Listen, I've gotten myself in a little bit of a jam with the cops. Can you do something about that?" "Hmm… Let me make some calls kid. But before the night, you'll be out on the streets again." "Thanks a lot Ted." "No problem." Click.

Some few hours pass by as I idle in my cell. It's amazing, being a Mekhet and all, being able to see and feel every single grain of mortar in the concrete in the wall and floors… Oh? A pair of guards and a very stereotypically dressed detective comes in. I stand up and confront the gentlemen behind the bars. I checked out his aura. He's almost pissed but relieved at the same time. What a weird combination. One of the guards comes up and unlocks my cell door and opens it. "You're free to go." I walk out of the cell and he orders the guards away. He gives me back my weapons and tells me that on my way out, I should use the door to the left since he turned off the metal detector in that one. I nod and bid him a good night. Not far, I see the impound and Anna's car. Nothing is damaged and I still have the keys on me. I think I've been in enough trouble for one night. This is a one-way ride back to the Haven and into the bed for me.


	15. Sentimental Value

Night 10

-----

I arise from my sleep to find that my sire is not present. Seriously, where is she? Oh well. I got some places to go. I grab my gear and the keys and hop into the car and drive. Hmm. Let's see what's up with Ted. I park on the curb and enter the store. "Well hello there, Marcus!" "Hey Ted. You know, I think I'll take you up on those shooting lessons that you've been offering." "Finally! The boy sees!" All of a sudden, he pulls out this long revolver and fires it towards a target. As far as I can tell, it was a dead on shot. That's great that I'm the creature of the night and all of that angsty stuff but I would not want to be seeing the end of that barrel if it were Ted on the other end aiming.

He leads me to the back of the shop and on the door there's a large poster that says, "Kill the hippies." There are several holes in it, assuming Ted made them with a gun some point in the past. He opened the door and turned on the lights. I really didn't know what to expect. I've never been in a place like this before. The shooting range is kind of bland but it does serve its purpose. Ted throws me a pair of ear protection. "Ted, do I really need these?" He looked at me as if I had asked the dumbest question I could ever ask. "Well, you don't have to. But I figure folks, especially like you, would need these." I put on the huge apparatuses without much opposition and begin the shooting. Ted taught me the proper way to hold the gun to maximize accuracy and in the hour, I'd like to say I've become a descent marksman with my piece. We come back out to the front again. Suddenly, there was this question I really needed to ask him. "Hey Ted. Who's your master?" Ted chuckled a bit and said, "I like ya kid. But there's some things that I don't give out just like that." I nodded and bid him a good night. I thought I heard him say, "I think it's that time of the month again," on my way out or something like that.

I think I'll try Cassandra Visions again. Hopefully, the shopkeep won't zap me out of the store again like last night. I pull up and see some shady figures quickly leaving the store. I sense their auras… Silver? Kindred like I? I don't like where this is going. I get out of the car and walk in. There doesn't look like any struggle had happened but the shopkeep looked a little worried. "Something wrong?" She turns around and says, "Those bastards took something from me." "Really?" I step up to the counter. "Well what was it? A book? An artifact?" "A necklace." "A necklace? Does it have some kind of power or something?" "No. It's just something of sentimental value to me. Marcus, if you can get that back for me, I'll give you the information you want." "Really?" "Really." "Consider it done." Without much thought of what I was going to get myself into, I walk right out and begin tailing the Kindred.

I end up at Navy Pier. It looks like the bastards went in the museum with it. There's a guard towards the front of the museum with well-lit lights too. But there are some windows to the side and some boxes I can climb up on. After a few tries, my footing stays true and allows me to enter a window that was carelessly left open. It looks like the janitor's closet. There's a ton of cleaning materials here. And some videos tapes? What the… Is this Fat Chicks 9? Shit dude. I walk out of the closet and into an empty hall. I listen carefully for sound and movements. Looks like the Main Exhibit hall is rather lively tonight. I quietly enter the area.

In the center of it all, there are 3 robed figures. One in white, the other in dark green, and the other in red. The red one looked like the ringleader of this operation. The necklace is right there on a neat little pedestal. It looks like some elaborate ceremony or something. Sorry I have to break this up. I find a chunk of concrete and chuck it across the other side of the room. A loud bang was heard. The red one stopped and went to investigate. Damn! I wanted all of them to leave. I guess I'll need to distract the other ones too. I pick up a smaller chunk and toss it. Where did it go? Oh shit… The hood fell off of the green robed one. The chunk was imbedded in her head and she looks pissed. She's closing in quick! I press my back to the wall and slide into the haven of the shadows. While the shadows hide me, the white one lets the hood fall down. Hey, she's pretty cute. Long blond hair and green eyes. Maybe I can track her down later. I unsheathe my knife and close in on the green one. I pull her into the dark and slice deeply into her throat so she can't scream. I pull her down and mutilate her body. It'll only stall her for a moment. Those deep cuts are already healing. I make a mad dash for the necklace. I got it! OW! The white one gave me a good punch in the sternum but it didn't put me down. Guess I shouldn't be looking for her. I make my way to the window and a throwing knife cuts my side. Doesn't matter. I jump through the window with the tail of my coat trailing behind me.

I land hard on my feet with a rain of glass around me. Shit, I lost a lot of blood back there. Oh well. I book to the car. "Hey! You local?" What? A Chinese tourist? What the hell is he doing around here at this hour? I get in the car, start it, and go. It's not necessary, but I take in some breathes of relief. Damn I feel like crap. It's sore all over. Especially my chest. That chick punched a lot harder than I thought she could. While driving, I take a look at the necklace. It's a locket. Opening the locket reveals a picture. There's a man, a woman, and a small girl in between them. This must be her family. I shut the locket and think about the ones I love for a moment. I wonder what they're thinking. I wonder what she's thinking…

I pull up to Cassandra Visions and as composed as I can, in my wracked form, I enter. "Do you have it?" I present my fist and open it. "Right here." The trinket disappears from my hands and into hers. She quickly dons it. I approach the counter. She's writing something down. When I get there, she presents it forward. "Here. Take this address to your masters but don't go there yourself. It's dangerous." "Thanks." I pocket the paper. "Just you let you know, I have no intent in harming you or anyone close to you." "I know. But what about the others? Others who aren't like you?" I chuckle a bit. "Well as you see, I've always got an arm or leg out for you. But this is just between us. No one will know." "Not yet anyway. I guess I'll have to put up more protection around here. You can see into things like this. Take a look." I tapped my Auspex ability. I don't know what, but I saw something all over the shop that just seemed lethal. If I do something she doesn't like I know I can die, for real. After the vision ended, I knew what she spoke of. "Well, you got all of these magical contraptions to help kill stuff. I've just got me. Damn that sucks. Oh well." I begin walking out of the store but remembered something. "Hey, I never got your name." "Linda." "Ah. Well, you probably know my name and more with those powers of yours. But whoever is in that locket, you have to protect them." She looked down. "Yes…" Man, what the hell? Damnit! I've been zapped out again! I must have struck a nerve with that comment. Not much I can do in there for the night. I get in my car and take a drive.

Driving by Grant Park, I think of something. I wonder if she's there tonight. I try to put the thought out of my mind but it keeps clawing at me and I couldn't resist it. I park somewhere and walk in. I look for that spot by the fountain and ah! There she is, in the blue denim coat and pants with her long brown hair half blowing with the wind. Lucia. I wonder what she's thinking. I scope out her aura. Damn, it's a lot of things. She's really worried. Maybe it's about me. And she's really obsessed with something. Me too? What the? Why is she turning around? Too late. "Marcus? Is that you?" She gasps and runs towards me in the dark. She gives me this great hug, if any tighter, might break my ribs. "Oh Marcus! I'm so glad to see you!" Ow. Oh man, I just realized this but I'm really thirsty right now.

Why does she smell so good right now? I breathe in her scent and wrap my arms around her. I can hear her too. Her breathing, her heartbeats, her blood flowing… Oh yes. The blood. I can feel my fangs extending to dangerous lengths in my mouth. I breathe deeply on her neck and move closer to her slender and pale neck. Wait, no! I can't! Anyone else except her! NO! Why can't I resist it? It's not even by the Beast but by my own will. I have to resist it with every fiber of my being! No matter how much I scream in my mind, it's useless. I push her head to the side and bite deep. She gasps in pain but that didn't matter. I just wanted the blood. Yes. This blood is so warm and the sweetest I've ever tasted in these past nights. God, it's like every lustful thought and dream about her were all being felt at the same time in this instance. It's the best thing I've ever felt. Oh. She loves it too. Apparently, she's been thinking about me in the same fashion too. It's like having the best sex ever, except she's inside me. I don't want this feeling to ever stop. Wait. I unhinge my self off her neck. Lucia? LUCIA! Oh my God. What have I done?


	16. Man and Beast

Author's Note: Ted's tells a lame but racist joke. Beware.

Night 10

-----

She's just limping over my shoulder. Her skin is getting cold. Her heartbeats are barely even there. I carry her over to the car and put her on the passenger side seat. I started up the car and went down the street. Son of a fuck! I'm victim to my own nature again._ I wouldn't say you're the victim._ You're one to talk. You're making me do things that I would never do! _You don't understand do you? You are of I and I of you. What ever you want, I want too. We are one in the same, Marcus._ Doesn't seem like it. You're making me do shit that's probably going to get me killed. _Now why would I do that? If you die, so do I. I don't want that to happen, Marcus._ I was going to retort but I felt its presence dissipate. There are many of things I don't like about my existence. This is one of them. This damn Beast is insane. It's the part of me that will never be. Unfortunately, this state of existence allows the darker recesses of myself vocalize itself and its perverted behavior. It's disgusting but it's a part of me. But never mind that for now. Lucia needs help, now. I turn the corner harshly as the wheels screech over the asphalt. I can't pull her into a hospital. What will they think when she has a huge lack of blood with no visible wounds? Not an option to bring her back to Anna. That'll get me killed along with her. I think her place will be fine.

I pull up to her apartment place. It's a nice place, considering it a part of the school. Her family is a lot richer and can afford the costs of living in the apartments rather than the dingy dorms. While I open the passenger side door to reach for her, I Auspex the building. Hmm. There appears to be a party on the top floors. A lot of the lower floors are low on sound or just completely silent. Either they're not home, studying, or sleeping. Lucia would be sleeping early except today. She's a good student. Completely opposite of me.

Luckily, I still have the keys to her place. Now why would I have these? We're not involved but we're really close friends. It's almost there but not really. Oh well. As I'm about to open the door to her room on the second floor, someone emerges from one of the rooms on the floor. Looks like someone who would have been partying upstairs. "What are you doing?" Shit. Um… "Dude she totally got, like, wasted." That response sucked. "Nice dude. You know, three makes a party." What the hell? Screw that. "Dude, hell no. Go out and find your own party." "Alright man. But shit dude, I didn't know she was that kinda girl." _What!? Marcus, he just insulted her integrity. Are you going to tolerate that? You should punish him for that._ Oh, I really want to. But there are more pressing matters at hand. I can't let petty things like this punk distract me. I roll my eyes, walk into her apartment, and shut the door.

I turn on the lights and lie her down on her bed and pull the covers over her. Her apartment is rather modern. Asides from the couple of posters of a couple of bands and dudes, it's ok. I throw off my coat and pull up a chair next to her bed and watch her. I check her pulse. Oh shit. It's so weak. If she doesn't get any help, she might die. _Blood._ We've just had some you… I just realized something. It didn't mean her blood, but mine. If she drinks my blood, she'll get better? What kind of lunacy is this? Have I ever led you wrong? Well shit, I don't know. What was that in the park then? _She's fading quick Marcus._ DAMNIT! I take my knife and make a clean cut across my left wrist. As the blood begins to emerge from the wound, she stirs. I can hear her breathe. She begins reaching around. I bring my wrist to her. Suddenly, she takes my wrist with great eagerness and begins drinking out of my wound. Ooh. What is this feeling? It feels good. I can hear the Beast as it delights the fact that it's entering her. I can't deny the Beast's reaction either. I try to pull away but she persists on going on. I do not protest.

A minute passes on but it seemed longer. I'm able to pull my arm away finally. Oh good. Her breathing has stabilized and so has her pulse. But even still, it's very weak. I took so much out of her. And even though I think I've saved her life, I feel as if I've done something horribly wrong. The part of me that's still alive is telling me this. She stirs! Her eyes begin to flutter open. I come closer to her. "Ma… Marcus? What… What did you do to me?" Her voice was so weak. I can't believe I did that to her. "I've done something terrible to you. I'm so sorry." She takes in a breath. "Sorry for what? It felt so good that it couldn't be wrong." What have I done? _Oh come now Marcus. You know you've always wanted to do this. And you have, all in a single night. You've penetrated her, had her drink your fluids, and now she's looking up at you like you're her savior or some kind of god._ Damn you! This isn't the time right now!

"Lucia, I've got some things to do so I'll leave you here, ok?" As I stood up, she grabbed my arm. "No Marcus. Please, don't leave me." I sat back down and took up her hand in both of mine. "I won't. But there's just some stuff I gotta do now." "Can you just stay with me a little bit?" I look at my watch. Just past midnight. Not bad. I look into her deep hazel eyes. "Ok. I'll stay for a bit." She pulls some covers over to let me in. Nearly as soon as I got into the bed, she grabs me and rests her head on my chest. I wrap my arm around her in response. I can't believe I'm doing this, even if I am dead. For a long while, I've longed for her sweet embrace in a warm bed. This is what I've wanted. I settle in the bed. My glances turn to her peaceful angelic face and occasionally the bland white ceiling. A half an hour passes. I think I can go. I try to get out of the bed, but she tugs my shirt to remain. It's not surprising that she's still not asleep, thanks to what I've done. But even more surprising is that she shares her bed with the monster that's wronged her. Does she not notice the lack of warmth from my skin, the silence of my heart, or the stillness of my lungs? Thunder booms the night sky as lightning crackles. Rain. I guess I can stay longer. I get back into the bed. Her grip relaxes and the Beast purrs in satisfaction. I can't complain.

An hour and a half passes by. The rains have stopped and Lucia is finally asleep. I pull myself out of the bed and turn around. I glide the back of my hand over her hair a bit and look admiringly at her. But, I don't know if I can see her ever again, for her sake. Or else I may so suddenly take her life… _Don't leave her, Marcus. Her blood just tasted so much better compared to the others._ That's exactly why I might have to step out of her life for good. Your impulses will cause me to take undesirable actions against her!_ I don't think that's how she exactly feels about that. She just loves it when you come inside her and begin sucking her insides into yourself. And you love it when she drinks of your entirety as well. You know it to be true._ You… _I only want what you want. That's how it always is in the end._ I wanted to say something but it faded into the dark recesses of my mind. I quickly slip on my coat, secure the apartment, and leave.

Out in the hallway, I notice that I'm still a bit hungry. It's sort of in the middle. Like, you're hungry, but you don't need to desperately eat. I Auspex the apartment complex. There's a huge party upstairs but I bet someone will likely recognize me so that's a big no-no. But that douche bag from earlier is home and left his door unlocked. Fool. I enter his apartment. There's a strong smell of illicit drugs and various equipment to utilize them like bongs and what have you. There's the bastard, sleeping on the couch. I bite in and drink. I pull off of his neck though. I've taken a bit to sate the hunger and its edge but it's going to be a problem tomorrow night. I felt the leftovers of disgust from drinking too much of Lucia's blood and nearly killing her. That doesn't need to happen to another person, no matter who it is. I get out of the apartment and drive. It's 1:45 am on a Sunday.

I'm not quite so sure what other kinds of side effects blood can have on a human. I probably can't find Anna but I know who I can find, Ted. I drive up to my favorite establishment and enter. "Well hey there, Marcus!" "Hey." "I've got a joke to tell you!" "Oh really?" "Yeah. What do you need when you have a nigger up to his shoulders in cement?" I sigh at the terribly tasteless and racist joke. "What?" "More cement!" He bursts out laughing. I just shake my head in disappointment. After he finished his laughing fit, I step closer. "I got a question." "'Bout guns?" "Err, no. But it may be something of equal importance. This is a hypothetical question." "Ok shoot." I draw in unnecessary breath. "So what if a hypothetical vampire hypothetically saw someone he knew while he was still living and hypothetically drank a lot more than what he intended and hypothetically gave her some of his blood to save her life? Would this hypothetical vampire be in deep shit?" He looks at me for a while. Is he prospecting the idea that I may be dumber than I look? "Well, if I did it I'd be sent to prison or an asylum, ASAP. However, if an irresponsible vampire had done it, he'd better finish off the job or else he may step in deep shit later." I nod my head and have my eyes rapidly wander the store, avoiding Ted's stern face. "Right. Well that'd be all then, Ted." "Ok Marcus. You have a good night." "I'll try." I hop in the car and drive to the Haven. Almost immediately, I wanted to fall on the floor and sleep there but I won't. I throw off my coat on the couch and descend to the basement. When I hit the bed unceremoniously, I quickly began to fade away to sleep. It wasn't because I was physically tired, but rather I felt mentally and spiritually drained that caused the need of sleep to become a lot stronger than I've felt these past nights.


	17. Confession and Forgiveness

Night 11

-----

I awaken anew once again. But I felt as if I slept longer than usual. I look over and see that Anna is actually here for once. But she is still sleeping. I wonder how she feels about me taking the car all the time. Oh well. I grab my gear and leave. I wonder if Ted's got anything new. I drive down to More Bang for your Buck and enter. It looks like he's dealing with another customers. I'll just have a look around. Wow. These shotguns look really nasty. I'm sure I can heal and all of that stuff but getting shot with one of these just would seem like it would suck a lot. After the customer left, it was all routine again. "Hey Marcus! I've got a joke for you." "Not again…" "So what's the difference between tires and black people?" "What?" "Tires don't sing when you put chains of them!" Ted breaks out into a raucous laughter. I'm beginning to think this is what I'm going to hear first every time I step foot here. Lord, have mercy.

"So yeah, those shotguns look pretty powerful. Like, they can blast a werewolf or something like that." "Werewolf? More like niggers!" "Well admittedly, I smashed one over the head with the top of a trash can." He high fives me. "So Ted, have you heard anything new lately?" "Well, one of the Matriarch's top dogs came in." I got a little worried. Did the Matriarch know of the Ted's association with me? "Really? Are they gonna hit the store or something?" "No. They just warned me to keep an eye out for certain people. Like you." I don't like where this is going." "Really? Well what did he just say about me?" "Why don't you find out for yourself?" What? He steps back and opens a door.

Out from the darkness, a man in a white business suit emerges. He has slicked back blond hair and is sporting stylish glasses, even though I'm sure he probably doesn't need them. "Hello Marcus." "Who are you?" "Who I am isn't the important matter here." "Then what is?" "Yesterday night at Grant Park…" Oh shit. "It appears you were being amorous with another individual." "What of it?" "If she breaks the Masquerade, you and her will be disposed of. No one will know what became of either of you. You either finish off the job or abandon her." How does he know? Of course. "You've been keeping tabs on me, aren't you?" The man smiles. "You catch on quickly, Neonate." "Nothing is kept secret to us for long." He adjusts his glasses. "Well, since you know there are those keeping watch over you, I would think you can make the right decision for yourself. For both of your sakes. Have I made myself clear?" "Yes." "Very good. Are you hungry?" Accepting drink from a man who just threatened Lucia and my own life? That's a negative. "No thanks. I'm fine." "Very well then. Enjoy your evening, Marcus." He proceeds back into the dark room he emerged from. "Wait." He turns around. "Will we be seeing each other again?" With a grim face, he says, "Pray that you don't. For you we do, it only heralds the end of your Requiem and her." "I see." The man nods and returns back into the darkness of the room. Ted quickly shuts the door. There's a silence in the store for a bit. I look at Ted. "Ted, do you know anything else about that guy?" "Nope. But all I know is that you better be making the right moves for a while. The Matriarch's got her eye on you." Damnit. Why so much trouble now? All because of last night? All I did was just give her some of my own blood to save her. I couldn't and wouldn't have let her die. Don't they see? "Need anything else?" I look up at Ted. I sincerely hope that he's one of that guy's goons. "No. I guess that'll be it." I leave the store. I look around if there's anyone else around. There only a couple people out, for the night is just beginning. Doesn't look like anyone did anything to the car either. After securing the area I leave.

I decide to check out Grant Park again by the water fountain. As far as I can sense, there's nothing here that would appear to be observing me. The fountains have turned off for the coming winter season. It can lead to both of our deaths, but I have to see her again. How is she doing? Is she still sick or has she recovered? I have to know. _I'm not responsible for any actions you take if you see her again._ It's right. The hunger is still strong enough for me to do something undesirable against her. I better get something before I see her. I get in the car and drive up to one of my haunts, the Haven club.

Upon entering, everything seems to be in place. I search the club scene for my favorite 300-year-old vampire. It's not long before I do find him. Upon seeing him, I prostrate myself to him. "Ah Marcus. You may rise, young one." "Lord Flavius, how goes the hunt tonight?" "It goes well indeed Marcus. After 300 years of existence, it isn't hard to find a meal." We both laugh. Man is this guy a crazy. I look at Flavius. He's a lot paler than he should be, even with the make up on. Looks like Anna's been tapping the source a bit much. I can't drink from him, lest he die from it. "Lordship, where is your lady companion tonight?" "Ah. She has… Well, she came down with a cold." He said with a very normal voice now. "Oh. That kinda sucks." "Yeah, it's kind of hard to be err, the Lords of the Night!" Back in character I see. "Well Marcus, I bid thee well. I must feed." "Very good Lord Flavius. I too have my own feeding to attend to." Unlike him however, I will be drinking blood. I quickly enter the throngs of people on the dance floor. It's not long before I spot someone. A decent looking scene girl. She's got long dark red hair with some heavy eye shadow, a leather skirt and corset, and knee length boots. I move in closer but seems uninterested. Damn. Let's try this again. I don't like it when they want to play hard to get. I just want to get to it and go. Especially when I have other things to do. I make myself noticeable to her and she lets me get closer. That's the ticket. I move in and bite. I'm beginning to get the hang of feeding. As much as dislike the act, it's essential for my survival in this current state. And I'm not gonna lie. It does feel really good when I do it. But sometimes I forget when it's too much for the person I'm drinking from. Kinda like almost now. She's just leaning on my shoulder now. Not as bad a Lucia's condition the other night but she's not going to move anywhere far for now. I prop her up on a chair and take my leave.

As I park on the curb of Lucia's apartment, I wonder what she's up to. The lights are on in her apartment. Her friends are probably over and protecting her from anyone they don't know so well, like me. Even when I was still alive, I never got to know her friends so well. But even if they did know me, how strange would it be for me, missing for over a week, to suddenly appear at her door to see how she was doing. I wonder if she mentioned my name to them. They probably think I drugged her and raped her or something equally terrible and vile. Even though I'd never think of such a thing nor act upon it, it's more than likely what they may be thinking. I wonder if my Auspex is strong enough to hear whatever is in her apartment. Let's see. I can hear something up there but I can't hear anything coherent. I concentrate even more and notice there are two other people in her room but again; I can't make anything out of the faint voices. Looks like I'll have to get closer.

It looks like my suspicions were true. One part of it anyway. There are a couple of more cars in the parking lot as usual. I walk up to the second floor but go up on the landing near the third floor, just in case her friends decide to come out of her room. I listen intently. Ah. Leticia and Joan are in there with her. Leticia's a very supple woman and Joan's a timid beauty. But I didn't smash my brains just to get a feel for what her friends looked like. Listening intently now…

"So let me get this straight, Lucy. You just got sick out of thin air?" Pfft. Must be Leticia. "Yeah." "And Marcus just happened to be around?" "Yeah." "Lucy, I think he must have done something to you like give you something and then tried to rape you or something." "No. He wouldn't do such a thing. Marcus is a kind and caring man. He'd never do anything like that to me." "I don't believe that. Marcus is trash. Right Joan?" "Uh… Yeah." "See?"

Damn. If they only knew the circumstances. Poor Joan. Poor woman only agrees with the prevalent idea of her more aggressive friend. She can't even form her own opinion of the situation. And Lucia, she's half telling the truth. She did see me indeed but she can't lie to save her life. But maybe that's just me. "He's only going to do more harm if you see him again. Who knows what else what he'll do to you if you see him again." "…" "Lucy?" "…Can you please leave?" Joan speaks up and says, "Lucy, we just want to protect you." "Please leave." "Ok. But you're getting a call tomorrow."

Such a softie. Can't even yell at her friends, even if they do piss her off. **Creak**. The pair come out of the apartment and begin their descent. They're just talking about said subject of I while they descend. It seems that it was a good idea to chill out here. After I make sure they leave, I go down to Lucia's door and listen. She's sobbing. She's not gonna open the door if I knock. I might as well let myself in.

When I open the door, she's still sobbing with her hands in her face. I knock on the wall. She looks up. "Marcus? Is… is that you?" "Well I'm no dream, I'll tell you that much." She gets up from her temporary bed, the couch, and begins to stumble towards me. She's not getting anyway far without falling. I run up to catch her in my arms. She's so fragile. "You're not walking anywhere far. I think you need to sit down for a while." I close the door behind me with my leg as I guide her back to the couch. She lays back down as I sat on the couch with her. She was still clinging onto my coat, as I wanted to take it off. I managed it. The coat hit the ground with a heavy thud with my sheathed knife falling out into the open. I almost freaked but Lucia didn't seem to mind.

"Hmm. You look upset. Something happen?" "My friends were over." "Oh? Now how can that be anything bad?" "They were saying terrible things about you." "Really?" "Yeah. They were saying that you might have poisoned me and tried to rape me. You'd never do such a thing." In the literal acts of such, never. But nearly killing you by nearly draining all of your blood and feeding you some of mine. Well… "…No. I would never." She smiles at me. "They're just jealous of what we have, together." Her hands reach for me. I instantly will the blood to flow within me so my formerly cold skin doesn't startle her. She cups my face and closes in for a kiss. We're making out for a good minute and a half. She pulls back to breathe. I almost forgot people needed air to live. But it isn't long before she grabs me again and begin another make out session. Ooh. She's getting brave, lashing her tongue inside my mouth. It's not long before our tongues begin to dance and writhe with each other. She pulls back and lies down again, breathing a sigh. Wow.

"So tell me, what really happened yesterday?" "Uh…" "Whatever it was, do it again. It felt really good." I'm really deep now, aren't I? Well, the deed must be done. I don't want that business suit guy around us. I take in a deep breath. "In this world, there are things that aren't as they seem. And when you do see things for what they really are, it's far too late to do anything about it." She listens. "You remember those old horror movies like Dracula and the Wolf Man right? And old figures of legend like Merlin, right? Well, things like Vampires, Werewolves, and Mages are real. I'm a vampire." Even in her weak state, she manages a hearty laugh. She looks at me, while trying to recover from her laugh and says, "That's really great but what is it really?" This is going to take a lot more work. "See, there's this thing called the Masquerade that shields the normal world from this dark world that lives underneath what we all know and love. By telling you this, I probably can get into a lot of trouble. What I did to you in Grant Park was drink your blood. I almost killed you because I hadn't slaked my thirst for a while that night. To save you, I had to feed you some of my blood." She sits herself up and comes close to my ear. "That's real good but seriously, what did you do?" Still not doing it huh? "When I feed off of you, your blood allows me to live. I don't know why I need living people's blood to live but I do. But that's the only effect blood has on vampires. It lets them live. But what does vampire blood do for the living? A whole lot more, as I hear. But in effect, once you drink my blood, you need me." Her face begins to get serious. She's starting to put the pieces together now. "I hear that many vampires abuse their power and cruelly treat these people they've given their blood to. But I won't do that to you. I just couldn't. Not to you." She looks up and whispers in my ears, "I was always your slave…" Ooh. The way she said that was so amazingly hot. She whispers again with her hot breath and voice, "Please, free me with a kiss." I move in closer and look at her soft and seemingly perfect features of her face. I cut my tongue with my fang and dive in. The part of me that was tired of the pain and stress of these past nights was put at ease when I saw her. Even more so as she tastes my blood. But it's still something awful. She's receiving my cursed blood. But this was all done in agreement. No more games and no more stories. We were both honest and willing to each other. Why not?

With a sudden burst of strength, she pushed me off of her and all of a sudden she was on top. Must be the blood. It's working. We continued for a few more minutes but then she stopped and lifted her soft lips from mine. "Marcus, get your knife." Oh so my tongue wasn't giving enough? "Why do I need that?" I bit into my wrist and gave it to her. She immediately drank deep of it. If she's using my blood as it comes, she should be fine by tomorrow! But it's gonna take a lot out of me. But man does it feel good. I'm penetrating and reaching deep inside her like no other man can possibly hold a candle to. She occasionally moans as she feeds. What a wonderful sound. Finally, she releases my wrist and the wound immediately seals up. With newfound and increased strength, she leaps up onto her feet like nothing ever happened to her. I'm really glad that she's fine now but I really have to leave. Even though I have enough willpower to not frenzy, it might not last long if I stay here. I put my hands on her shoulders. "I'm glad that you're strong enough to take care of yourself now. But I gave a lot of my blood to you and I have to get some more to be fine." She nods. Even though she is fine, she's become tired and I guide her to the couch and kiss her on the forehead before leaving.

Holy shit am I thirsty. I walk out of her apartment and into the car and begin driving. I swear if someone acts like a fucking moron on the road, heads will roll. There aren't a lot of places available to me. My skin is chalk white, my skin is ice cold, and my fangs are a bit protruding. The Haven club isn't even gonna fly with my staring at someone's neck with a open mouth with fangs. I end up around a bar nicknamed the Bucket of Blood. Called as such because of the brutal bar fights that break loose inside the said establishment. I pull up on the curb and spy a dark alley. Lots of terrible things happen in an alley and a thirsty me isn't excluded from the list. I secure the vehicle and go in. It isn't long before a sucker comes along. Here comes a well-built bearded dude with full biker gear. He goes in a corner and proceeds to urinate. Done deal. I begin to rise from my hiding place. He doesn't notice me. It's only because of my mystic vampiric powers that allows the shadows to cloak me in their darkness. Also, the guy is drunk off his ass so that could be it too. No matter what it is, I don't care. Point is, the guy isn't gonna see it coming. It bite into neck from behind as he's still going. Man, this blood is toxic but it's better than nothing. I enjoy the euphoric sensation reaching all throughout my body as I take more of this man's blood. No one cares if he dies or not. After getting my senses back after getting enough blood, I realize that isn't me. I let the guy go drop to the floor. I don't know if he's going to live or not but if he does, he'd better think his life over again. Just as the good Bishop taught me of the Lancea's purpose. To punish the wicked and to be as God's holy monster. But I wish the wicked wouldn't lash back by getting intoxicated but this was the only one around. I get back out and walk to the car. I think I can drive but I hope the cops don't catch me. Wait, that's too easy. This place is a bar and it's late. Cops are everywhere looking to take down some drunks. I'm gonna walk. Anna's place is only a mile from here.

When I return home, I find that I'm the only one in the house. Man, I wonder if all she does is club and engage in creepy BDSM and blood driven sex. She's so freaky but I'd jump on it in a heartbeat. Oh well. I go down into the basement and jump into the bed and read one of my books that I brought back from my dorm. I can't seem to focus on any passages due to the overpowering tiredness and thoughts of Lucia. As I begin to descend into sleep, I can hear her voice. "I was always your slave…"


	18. Downtime

Night 12

-----

I find myself alone again when I awake. Seriously, where is she? Oh well. I collect my gear and plan for tonight. Hmm. Man, I really need to get away from all of this Kindred business. I just want to sit down and talk or do something with normal people. I recall that someone wanted to see me in the near future. I believe that visit is far overdue. I pull out a piece of paper and dial the number. Ah the ring tone. "Hello?" "Hey Christine. It's me. What's up?" "Nothing much. Gonna hang out today?" "Sure." "Great. Meet me at campus in an hour" "Ok." At least I have time to get the car I left yesterday. **Ring ring!** Hmm. I wonder who it is now. "Hello?" "Young Marcus." Holy shit! It's the Bishop! "Your Eminence. What do you ask of this unworthy one?" "Marcus you are worthy indeed. Your efforts have helped us silence the enemy those few nights ago. For providing such vital information, you shall be fully baptized into the Covenant." "Thank you, your Eminence." "Be at the Church promptly at 11:00 pm, tomorrow." "Yes, your Eminence." "Oh. If you don't mind, I'd like for you to tell how you came about this information so I can reward you properly." "Not at all, your Eminence." "Excellent. Good evening." "Good evening." I put the receiver down. Shit. How well are they going to take that I got that info from a person who can force you out of her store without you even knowing? Not well, I would take it. I'll have to see what I can do tomorrow but that's not what I'm going to worry about now. I grab my coat and begin my journey to the car.

Surprisingly, it hasn't been broken into or damaged at all. Good. I get in the car and drive up to Cassandra's Visions to see if I can get a suggestion or 2 out of Linda on how to deal with tomorrow. Weird. The store is closed again. I wonder where she is. Oh well. I drive up to the campus and look around to see if she's anywhere outside. Nothing. I don't want to be seen. But what if I am seen? Are they gonna call the cops or something? I don't care.

I walk into the dorms. Surprisingly, no one is around at all. Good students must be studying or sleeping. Bad students must be out drinking or partying. Worse students are going to hang out with a vampire. Oh well. She asked for it. I knock on her door. She opens it and gives me a greeting hug. She's wearing semi tight jeans and a white top. "Hey. So are we going anywhere?" "Um, I really can't think of anywhere to go really." That's true. I can't eat food or drink nor can I go to any brightly lit places. She says, "That's fine. We can talk if you want." "Hey, that works for me." I walk into her room. Looks like she shares the place with another person or two but I don't mind. We pull up chairs and start talking. The first thing I wanted to know is about that card trick with doors. "Hey, where did you learn that card trick?" "It's kind of in the family." She belongs to a family of burglars? "See, we were locked outside our house so we tried out the technique and it worked. Saved us quite a bit of money from getting a locksmith in." So she doesn't belong to a family of burglars. "Ah. See, I've had to do it a couple of times too and I was a bit scared my credit card was gonna break or something. Must really good at it huh?" "Yeah. You've just got to use it more and get used to the technique." After that, stuff like local and national politics and religion come up. The normal stuff. But, it's kinda frightening that this is the normal stuff for me while other people wouldn't have a clue to as what we'd be talking about. And then her knowledge about the stuff is very surprising. I wouldn't think she'd know this stuff and more.

She then starts to delve into more personal things. "So Marcus, what's your past history with women?" "Err, not so good. I haven't really done anything. I mean the only two women I know are you and Lucia." "Oh. Are you and Lucia…?" "No but it's kinda strange you see because I have keys to her apartment. We're really good friends but nothing like that." She chuckles and says, "Oh. So you 2 are like that huh?" "Err… Well stop putting the questions on me. What about you?" "Me? From high school till now, I've been doing some things here and there but nothing big." "I see." "You know what it is Marcus? And I think it goes the same for you too. It's just that people can't keep up with me, you know?" I nod in agreement. "But not you, Marcus." "Uh…" "But I know that you and Lucia are involved so." Involved? If she only knew how much of an understatement that is. I stand up and start walking around her room. I glide my fingers over her bookcase and look around freely. I then stand at her window and look out onto the campus. She walks up from behind and says, "It's been a while since you've seen it huh? So when are you getting back to class?" "Honestly, not for a long time." "Oh. So what have you been doing that's keeping you busy?" "A lot of personal stuff, you know?" "Right. Have you learned anything new?" "Anything new?" "Oh come on. Something new." Something new huh? I turn around and look at her. She's really good looking and I'm a little thirsty. "Actually I have." "Really?" "Yeah. Come here. I'll have to tell you." She comes up and lets me get close to her neck. I suddenly bite down and she gasps but soon starts softly moaning. I don't take a lot as I wasn't that hungry but I'm actually full for once. I let go and she looks up at me. "You've got to show me how to do that." "If I do, it's not going to be for a long time." She sighs and says, "I'm really sleepy. I'm sorry Marcus." "No. It's ok. It happens to the best of us sometimes" She lies down on her bed and I head for her door. She then says, "Wanna hang out again?" "Sure. Sometime this week or something like that. I got your number." "Ok. See you then." "Yep."

I head out and drive up to Lucia's apartment to see if she's doing any better. Undoubtedly she is due to my blood but if not that, I just want to see her again. As I walk up the stairs, I try to hear if anyone but her is in her apartment. No one. Great. As I close the door, Lucia comes up and hugs me and starts kissing me passionately. She stops and says, "I can't feel your pulse in me anymore. It's all gone. I need to feel you in me again." Without hesitation, I bite down on my wrist and give it to her. Her drink is a lot shorter than yesterday as I'm not trying to restore her health anymore. I only realize that I didn't feel that feeling of horror because of the sheer ignorance of what I was doing to her. After she let's go of my wrist she opens her eyes and gives me this look that I've never seen in her eyes all the years that I've known her. She embraces me and whispers into my ear, "Let's be like this, forever." I glide my hand over her hair and whisper back, "Forever." I just hope that in this time of eternity we have together here in this life, that the curse that I have incurred upon her is a light burden compared to my own curse. With a companion at my side in my care now, I now think that I may take on this undead life of mine. We lock lips passionately for sometime and enjoy each other's company on her bed. A while later, I remembered that I had to see the Bishop tomorrow night. Lucia's room didn't have very adequate blinds over her windows to shield me from the sun if I should remain in bed with her. However, her closet's solid wooden doors provided excellent coverage against the unforgiving sunbeams. I took my leave to her small closet. Lucia bade me that she slept alongside with me in the closet but I convinced her to sleep in her more comfortable bed than spend the night cramped in her closet with a corpse. I could have driven back to Anna's but I really didn't feel like it. I shut the closet door, close my eyes and let the sleep overtake me.


	19. Sanctified

Night 13

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I awake, much to my chagrin of not being in a bed but in a cramped closet however, I awake. When I emerged from the closet, I noticed that Lucia was not in bed. Again, I almost forgot that living people woke up in the morning and that I don't follow that regiment anymore. Her apartment is also lacking of her person. I wonder where she went. Oh well. I can't worry about her now, as I have to worry about myself. I secure the apartment and leave to Anna's place to find something nice to wear, as I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate my casual gear. I find my best coat and leave. Before going to the Cathedral of the Dark Saint, I drive by Cassandra's Visions to see if the store is open or not. Unfortunately it isn't. I wonder where Linda is and why she doesn't live someone else to run the place for her. Oh well.

I drove to the place of my Embrace, the dingy looking apartment complex with an underground Cathedral down below. I descend the steps and enter through a door and find the full congregation before me. Towards the front is Laurence in his blood red Lancea Sanctum garb. Towards his left is Sylvia; bearer of the Mask and to his right is Solomon, bearer of the Claws and kneeling in front of the Bishop is Anna. "Come forth, Supplicant," commands Laurence. I do so without fail and also kneel before his Eminence. A series of ritual questions is administered between my Sire and I and before I know it, my coat and shirt are off. Laurence moves over to the altar and picks up a Gladius. He comes forth and with it, carves a cross on my chest. He motions Solomon to go over to a corner. Solomon delicately places the Mask on a velvet-covered pedestal and moves over to what looks like a brazier. He picks up a red hot metal rod and gives it to Laurence and with that traces it over my wound. I seriously felt the need to flee the scene as fast as possible but I could not, for not only would I humiliate Anna but also myself. The urge to scream in pain was also suppressed since that showed weakness. After the rod was applied, Solomon brought forth another instrument. It was a cross-shaped brand and it was ready to go. It was pressed upon my forehead and the bridge of my nose. The searing pain truly tested me but I was able to live through the few seconds it was upon my face that felt like an eternity. I'm ready to go through more, but I don't think my body can withstand anything else they'll do to it.

Finally, the instruments were put away and two Nosferatus carried out a bag about 5'8'' long. They dropped its contents to the floor. It was a high end looking white man that smelled of drugs that he probably sold. Laurence said to me, "Now go and sate your hunger." With complete abandon, I was upon him within mere seconds and drank. The life flowing into me was healing away my wounds and gave me new life. Somehow in the midst of feeding, I noticed that the victim and I were being poured with holy water and that the Last Rites were being told to the victim. During this moment, I truly felt blessed by God. I could not come up with any logical explanation to as why I felt this but I did and I fully accepted it. The victim passed on but I have found purpose. I look to the Bishop and he said, "You are not a lost monster anymore. You are now one of God's instruments of judgment. A Shepard of Mankind. You are Sanctified. Do not falter in your purpose decreed by God himself." "Your Eminence, I shall not fail you or God." He smiled and said, "Now go and be God's holy monster." I retrieved my shirt and coat from other lay members. Before I left to do His will, I went to Anna. "Hey, I know I've been taking out the car a lot and it's yours and all so if you want for me to stop taking it all the time, just say it cause…" She started laughing and bade me to leave as the issue of whoever used the car the most was of little concern so thus, I took my leave from the congregation.

As I drove around Chicago, I wondered where to begin my work. Although Englewood is rife with sin, I'm not too eager to become familiar with various types of munitions punching through me anytime soon. But I know a place I've been to recently that I may work. I stop and enter the bar called by many, the Bucket of Blood. I take my seat in a corner of the place and I scour the area. It's not long before I have reason to act. An argument ensues about a man giving another man's woman a certain look that he didn't like and the argument soon broke out into a full blown fight, with pool sticks. The man who gave the look is severely beaten and defeated and the winner declared that if anyone else gave his woman, named Lucy ironically, said look, he would impart upon that person a knuckle sandwich. I proceeded with his directions and began looking up and down this Lucy. I really don't know what this guy finds attractive about this Lucy than the one I know. Maybe if she looked like Lucia or Christine, then sure. But this is unacceptable. Ah. I find his ire rather quickly. He walks over to my table and looms over me. "Not only were you looking at Lucy but we certainly don't take kindly to folks like you." I just look up at him with nonchalant eyes. His face tenses up and he says, "You got some kind of death wish, school boy?" "I might. Do you?" He comes right into my face and says, "I can mop this whole bar clean with your face. What can you do?" "So many things to you that I don't think the patrons of this establishment can bare to see it. In fact, let us discuss more about this outside." The man smiled and led me to the alley behind the place.

I looked at him nonchalantly and asked, "Well, are we going to do this or are you just wasting my time?" The man growled and launched his fists at me. Very good, but not good enough. I effortlessly dodge the attack and draw my knife and make my own move. I managed to make a gash on his left forearm. It's not as good as I hope it would have been but it's better than nothing at all. He gives me a good punch, square on the jaw. Man, he hits hard but it's all for naught. It was a matter of seconds before the blood healed my fractured jawbone. I felt blood rush to my extremities as I summoned the power of Celerity. The fight completely became one-sided. Any punches thrown were dodged effortlessly or were just brushes against me. I was amazed at the man's tenancy. Even after some critical stabs, he still wouldn't stop. Eventually, I found an opening and kicked him to the ground. I picked him up by the collar and slammed him against the wall. I listened to his heartbeats and they weren't unlike Lucia a few nights ago before. "I know that you have sinned many times. What you've done in that bar only hastens your path to damnation. I can only tell you this: repent or die." The man fainted and I let his body slide to the floor. I'm not really sure if he's going to live or not. If he does, I'm sure he's a smart man and he'll think over his life choices. If he doesn't, well… He'll have plenty of time in Hell to think about his misdeeds until Judgment Day. I look down on my dress coat and frown at the fact that blood had been spilt upon it. "Maybe Lucia can wash this or something. Unless she's got a washing machine over at her place or one back at Anna's then I can do it myself. Meh." I shrug and drive back to Anna's place and retire for the night. My work has only begun…


End file.
